Tokyo Tech Bulletin No. 71 is launched

Flexible thin-film electrodes placed directly on brain tissue show promise for the diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy, as demonstrated recently by scientists at Tokyo Tech. Thanks to an innovative yet straightforward design, these durable electrodes accurately match the mechanical properties of brain tissue, leading to better performance during electrocorticography recordings and targeted neural stimulation.

An organometallic capsule that can reversibly assemble and disassemble in response to chemical stimuli was recently developed by chemists at Tokyo Tech. Comprising ferrocene-based bent amphiphiles, this new capsule can act as a host for various types of guest molecules, such as electron acceptors and dyes. Thanks to the controllable release of its cargo, the capsule would find applications in catalysis, medicine, and biotechnology.

α-FAPbI₃, a promising solar cell material with a cubic perovskite structure that is metastable at room temperature, can be stabilized by introducing a pseudo-halide ion like thiocyanate (SCN^–) into its structure, demonstrated by Tokyo Tech researchers in a new study. Their finding provides new insights into the stabilization of the α-phase via grain boundary and pseudo-halide engineering.

The neutron-rich oxygen isotopes oxygen-27 and oxygen-28 exist as very short-lived resonances, report scientists from Tokyo Tech based on the first observation of their decay into oxygen-24 and three and four neutrons, respectively. Notably, the oxygen-28 nucleus is found not to be "doubly magic" as expected in the standard shell-model picture. This study provides valuable insights into the nuclear structure.

Fe–S clusters, which are a part of Fe–S proteins, are found across all forms of life. They play a significant role as biological cofactors—helper molecules that assist these proteins in different biochemical transformations—that are involved in respiration and metabolism. These clusters are of keen research interest since they are considered to be a critical part of evolution. Having convenient methods to synthesise Fe–S proteins will hopefully advance our understanding of young Earth biology and help us answer the ultimate question of the origin of life.

IbpA, a protein that partakes in the heat shock response in Escherichia coli bacteria, serves more functions than previously thought, as revealed by scientists at Tokyo Tech. Through in-depth experiments involving genetically engineered E. coli strains, the researchers find that IbpA suppresses the translation of messenger RNA of σ³², a master protein factor that regulates the expression of around a hundred genes of heat shock proteins, including IbpA itself.

Fusion reactors, fast breeder reactors, and solar thermal power plants are being developed as power plants with low environmental impact and no resource constraints. Since these power plants operate at high temperature with large-heat transfer, scientists are studying the use of components that use liquid metal as a coolant. The liquid metal blanket and the liquid metal divertor are among the most important components of fusion reactors and have attracted attention as innovative energy conversion devices. However, the selection of structural materials that are chemically compatible with high-temperature liquid metals has been a challenge.

Polymers composed of aromatic frameworks are attracting increasing attention for the construction of highly functional materials. So far, their application has been limited by their virtual insolubility in organic solvents and water. Now, researchers at Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) have developed a new, environmentally benign methodology for the water-solubilization of such polymers utilizing bent aromatic amphiphiles. The solubilization enables not only structural and spectroscopic analysis of the polymers but also their facile processing into various thin films.

The ammonia decomposition performance of nickel-based catalysts can be significantly improved by supporting them on a perovskite-type oxynitride like h-BaTiO_3−xN_y, demonstrate researchers from Tokyo Tech in a new study. They found that replacing oxygen sites in the lattice of the support material with N^3– ions reduced the operating temperature by over 140℃ and increased the efficiency of the catalyst.

Key role in electron transport, reveals a recent study conducted by researchers at Tokyo Tech. Through simultaneous surface-enhanced Raman scattering and current–voltage measurements, they found that a single dimer junction of naphthalenethiol molecule shows three different bondings, namely π—π intermolecular and through-π and through-space molecule–electrode interactions.