Welcome to SATO Lab.
Faculty of Human Development/Graduate School of Human Development and Environment Kobe University

We mainly study the structure and properties of polymers by vibration spectroscopy.


        

<Call for Graduate Students>
If you are interested in researching polymer spectroscopy, please contact us in advance before visiting our laboratory.
<Join us>
The Sato lab. is recruiting postdocs via funding through JSPS(Japan Society for the Promotion of Science)fellowships.

News

[2026]

April 1, 2026 News
The new semester begins!!!


[2025]

January 27, 2026  Presentation
Study on polymer structure and properties using low-frequency vibration spectroscopy and imaging
Presentation and Experiment@Leibniz-Institut fur Polymerforschung Dresden


December 24, 2025 Presentation 

The research result was presented at the Frontier Workshop For Young Students, Kobe University , Japan 
 (Yuhi Yoshida , Miyu Ogawa , Yuma Yamada , Ritsuki Matsuoka(poster))


December 15-20, 2025 Presentation 

The research result was presented at the Pacifichem 2025, Honolulu, Hawaii 
・Quantitative Analysis of Molecular Weight of Polyethylene using Far-Infrared Spectroscopy and Raman Spectroscopy
Ayano Kitamura, Naoya Okitsu, Harumi Sato(poster)
・Raman imaging Studies of Marine biodegradable plastics
Harumi Sato (oral)
・Temperature-Dependent Structural Changes of Water and Raman Spectral Analysis of OH Stretching and Low-Frequency Regions Using 2D Correlation Spectroscopy
 Hiroto Asano, 〇Harumi Sato, Anqi He, Yizhuang Xu, Yukihiro Ozaki (oral, invited)


November 30 to December 5, 2025 Presentation 

The research result was presented at the 13th International Conference on Advanced Vibrational Spectroscopy (ICAVS 13) and the 5th International Conference on Enhanced Spectroscopy (ICES5),  Xiamen University, Xiamen, China 
・Visualization of marine degradation processes of biodegradable polyester by low-frequency Raman imaging
Harumi Sato (oral, invited)


November 5,2025 Presentation

The research result was presented at  The 34th Symposium on The Japan Society of Infrared Science and Technology@ Kobe University, Japan  
〇Ritsuki Matsuoka(poster)


September 16,2025 Presentation

The research result was presented at the 74th Symposium on Macromolecules @ Kansai University, Japan  
(Yuma Yamada(oral),Ritsuki Matsuoka(poster),Miyu Ogawa(poster))


September 7,2025 Presentation

The research result was presented at the Joint Meeting of the Tohoku Area Chemistry Societies@Yamagata University, Japan  
Title:Visualization of Marine Biodegradation Process of Polymers by Raman Spectroscopy
Harumi Sato(oral,invited)


July 27 to August 2,2025 News 

One-week research experience in Kobe
https://www.research.kobe-u.ac.jp/mprc/summerschool/index.html
Students from Kasetsart University in Thailand visited our laboratory.


July 17 ,2025 Presentation 

The research results were presented at 70th Symposium on The Society of Polymer Science @ Kobe 
(Yuhi Yoshida ,Miyu Ogawa,Yuma Yamada,Jiacheng Gao)


May 24,2025 Presentation 

The research result was presented at the Symposium Precision Terahertz Spectroscopic Measurements and Dielectric Permittivity of Advanced Materials,Kobe University,Japan
Title:Low-frequency Raman spectroscopy studies of polymers
Harumi Sato(oral,invited)


May 21 ,2025 News
The research results were presented at 59th Consortium of Industry-Academic Collaboration on Terahertz Science,Technology,and Industrial Development @ Osaka University 
Professor Harumi Sato(oral,invited)


May 19-20 ,2025 Presentation
The research results were presented at 74th SPSJ Annual meeting @ Zoom 
(Yuma Yamada,Ritsuki Matsuoka,Miyu Ogawa,Ayano Kitamura)


May 17 ,2025 News
The research results were presented at Korea-Japan Raman Symposium @ Seoul 
TItle:Raman imaging Studies of Marine degradation process for biodegradable polymers
Professor Harumi Sato(oral,invited)


April 1 ,2025 News
The new semester begins!!!


[2024]

March 17 ,2025 News
2nd Symposium on Asian Research Network for Terahertz Molecular Science @ Nara,Japan 
TItle:Visualization of Marine degradation process of polymers by Low-frequency Raman imaging
Professor Harumi Sato


December 24, 2024 Presentation 
The research result was presented at the Frontier Workshop For Young Students, Kobe University , Japan 
 ( Yuma Yamada, Yuhi Yoshida , Jiacheng Gao,Yorika Hayashi(poster))


October 20 to 25, 2024 Presentation 

The research result was presented at the SciX 2024, Raleigh Convention Center, USA 
Title:Low-frequency Raman and far-infrared/terahertz spectroscopy
studies of polymer
Professor Harumi Sato (invited)


September 9, 2024 Presentation 

The research result was presented at the 22nd European Symposium on Polymer Spectroscopy (ESOPS2024), BAM Branch Adlershof, Berlin,Germany 
Title:Marine degradation of biodegradable polymers studied by 2D- and 3D-Raman imaging
Professor Harumi Sato (Plenary)


August 16 to September 17, 2024 News
Dr.Dian Marlina conducted research in the Sato Labo during her short-term stay.


July 28, 2024 Presentation 

The research result was presented at the 28th International Conference on Raman Spectroscopy (ICORS) 2024, Rome,Italy 
Title:Visualization of Marine Degradation Process of Poly(ε-caprolactone) using Raman Spectroscopy
Professor Harumi Sato (Keynote speaker)


July 12, 2024 Presentation 

The research result was presented at the 70th annual Kobe Polymer Research Symposium, Kobe,Japan
(Yuhi Yoshida,Jiacheng Gao,Yuma Yamada)


June 5,2024 Presentation

The research result was presented at the 73rd SPSJ Annual Meeting @ Sendai, Japan  
(Jiacheng Gao(poster),Yuma Yamada(poster),Harumi Sato(oral))


April 1 ,2024 News
The new semester begins!!!



[2023]

March 16,2024 News

The research result was presented at 1st Symposium on "Asian Research Network for Terahertz Molecular Science @ Kobe University, Japan
Title:THz and low-frequency Raman spectroscopies in Polymers
Professor Harumi Sato


December 26, 2023 Presentation News 

The research result was presented at the Frontier Workshop For Young Students, Kobe University , Japan 
Masahiro Hatayama, a second-year master’s student in Harumi Sato’s laboratory, has received the Award
SNS Link↓
https://x.com/ningenhattatuk1/status/1745934071627469299?s=46&t=2DKcigkc81RWncckykV33g


October 5, 2023 Presentation News 

The research result was presented at The Annual Meeting of Spectroscopical Society of Japan, Kobe University , Japan 
Jiacheng Gao,Yuma Yamada,Masahiro Hatayama, Yota Maruyama
Jiacheng Gao(D1) and Yota Maruyama(M2) in Harumi Sato’s laboratory, has received the Award
SNS Link↓
https://twitter.com/ningenhattatuk1/status/1723500426623144139


September 26, 2023 Presentation

The research result was presented at The 72nd Symposium on Macromolecules, Kagawa University , Japan 
Jiacheng Gao,Yuma Yamada,Masahiro Hatayama, Yota Maruyama
Jiacheng Gao(D1) and Yota Maruyama(M2) in Harumi Sato’s laboratory, has received the Award
SNS Link↓
https://twitter.com/ningenhattatuk1/status/1723500426623144139


August, 2023 Publication
Sulika Sharma , Saki Kashihara , Yuta Yamasaki, Yukihiro Ozaki, Isao Takahasi,and Harumi Sato
「Combined X-ray Reflectivity and Infrared Study the Effect of Hydrogen Bonding of the OH Group on the Reflaxation Behavior in Ultrathin Polyvinylphenol Films on SiO2
is published by The Journal of Physical Chemistry B
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcb.3c01491

August 31, 2023 Presentation 

The research result was presented at the 12th International Conference on Advanced Vibrational Spectroscopy (ICAVS 12) ,  Krakow ,Poland 
”Visualization of Intermolecular Hydrogen Bonding of Poly(ε-caprolactone) during Marine Degradation using Low-frequency Raman Spectroscopy”
〇Harumi Sato, Tomoaki Segawa, Kohei Ito, Yota Maruyama, Masahiro Hatayama, Gao Jiacheng (oral)


August 7, 2023 Presentation 

The research result was presented at the 17th Summer Seminar on Japan Society for Analytical Chemistry, The Kinki Branch, Japan 
(Yota Maruyama, Masahiro Hatayama,Yorika Hayashi, Gao Jiacheng)


July 14, 2023 Presentation 

The research result was presented at the 69th annual Kobe Polymer Research Symposium, Kobe,Japan
(Masahiro Hatayama, Yota Maruyama, Jiacheng Gao)


May 25,2023 Presentation

The research result was presented at the 72nd SPSJ Annual Meeting @ Gunma, Japan  
(Masahiro Hatayama,Harumi Sato)


April 1,2024 News
The new semester begins!!!


[2022]


November 12, 2022
Experiment@FSBL03XU, SPring-8

September 6, 2022 Presentation 

The research result was presented at the 71st Symposium on Macromolecules @ Hokkaido University, Japan  (Ito, Morooka, Sato)


July 15,2022 Presentation 

The research results were presented at The annual Kobe Polymer Research Symposium @ Sannomiya, Kobe
 (Yamamoto, Gao, Segawa, Ito, Maruyama)


June 30,2022 News
Professor Sato give a lecture at OPTRONICS Seminer

May 25-27,2022 Presentation 

The research results were presented at the 71th SPSJ Annual Meeting @ Online Virtual Meeting  (Gao, Segawa, Yamamoto, Maruyama Ito)


May,2022 News

A new member is joining us -Dr. Nami Ueno.
Welcome to Sato Laboratory!

April 1 ,2022 News
The new semester begins!!!

[2021]


March ,2022 Publication
Erika Mitani, Yukihiro Ozaki, Harumi Sato
"Two types of Cdouble bondO⋯HO hydrogen bonds and OHOH (dimer, trimer, oligomer) hydrogen bonds in PVA with 88% saponification/PMMA and PVA with 99% saponification/PMMA blends and their thermal behavior studied by infrared spectroscopy" is published in Polymer.


December, 2022 Publication
「Spectroscopic Techniques for Polymer Characterization: Methods, Instrumentation, Applicationsedited by Prof. Sato and Prof. Yukihiro Ozaki will be published by WILEY-VCH



November, 2021 News
Professor Sato has been admitted as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC). The FRSC is a title given to researchers who have made outstanding contributions to the field of chemistry.
  The Royal Society of Chemistry is the oldest society in the world, with a history of 170 years, and has members not only in the UK but all over the world. It publishes many top-level chemistry-related journals and books, and is a world leader in chemistry research, education, and awareness.


December 16-21, 2021 Presentation 

The research results will be presented at Pacifichem @virtual-only event (Sato, Mitani, Ito)


September , 2021 Publication
Miroslaw Antoni Czarnecki, Yusuke Morisawa, Yukiteru Katsumoto,
Tomoyuki Takaya, Swapnil Singh, Harumi Sato and Yukihiro Ozaki
" Solvent Effect on Competition Between Weak and Strong Interactions in Phenol Solutions Studied by Near-infrared Spectroscopy and DFT Calculations"
is published in Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys.
Also selected as Back Cover!

September, 2021 Publication
Tulika Sharma, Yoshiaki Nishio, Yuichiro Tamano, Harumi Sato, Isao
Takahashi"Correlation of physical aging and glass transition
temperatures in ultrathin polystyrene films supported on SiO2
"
is published in Polymer
.

July 9 , 2021 Presentation 

The research results will be presented at The annual Kobe Polymer Research Symposium @ Online Virtual Meeting
 (Sato, Mitani, Ito, Yamamoto)


May, 2021 News
An article about Professor Sato's research, which was planned mainly by Shogo Tsuchihara a graduate of Sato Laboratory (completed the master's program in 2015), was introduced in the Asahi Shimbun

May, 2021 Publication
Mao Nochi of Sato Lab (completed the master's program in 2020)
" Water-induced conformational changes in the powder and film of ε -poly(L)lysine studied by infrared and Raman spectroscopy Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy"
is published in Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy.

May, 2021News
Professor Sato will give a lecture at HORIBA Raman School.
June 22nd 14:10- 「Plastic seen in Raman spectrum」 Harumi Sato
Click here to apply→HORIBA Raman School

May, 2021Publication
A collaborative research paper between Professor Sato and Imperial College London " Visualization of Inter- and Intramolecular Interactions in Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)/Poly(L-lactic acid) (PHB/PLLA) Blends During Isothermal Melt Crystallization Using Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier Transform infrared (ATR FT-IR) Spectroscopic Imaging" is published in Applied Spectroscopy.

May 26-28, 2021 Presentation 

The research results will be presented at the 70th SPSJ Annual Meeting @ Online Virtual Meeting  
(Sato, Mitani, Ito, Yamamoto)


April, 2021 Publication
Tatsuro Nasu of Sato Lab (completed the master's program in 2020)
" Study of changes in water structure and interactions among water, CH2, and COO groups during water absorption in acrylic acid-based super absorbent polymers using Raman spectroscopy"
is published in Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy.

April 1 ,2021 News
The new semester begins!!!


[2020]


March 8-9, 2021 Presentation 

Prof.Sato had an invited speak at The 8th International Workshop on Far-Infrared Technologies (IW-FIRT2021)


January, 2021 Publication
Yumiko Yamamoto of Sato Lab (completed the master's program in 2019)
" Differences in Intermolecular Interactions and Flexibility between Poly(ethylene terephthalate) and Poly(butylene terephthalate) Studied by Far-Infrared/Terahertz and Low-Frequency Raman Spectroscopy"
is published in Macromolcules. This study clarified the difference in intermolecular interaction and motility of polymers with similar structures using vibration spectroscopy and quantum chemistry calculations in the low wavenumber region.

October, 2020 Publication
A collaborative research paper between Professor Sato and Imperial College London " Simultaneous Visualization of Phase Separation and Crystallization in PHB/PLLA Blends with In Situ ATR-FTIR Spectroscopic Imaging"
is published in Macromolcules. This is a summary of the research results of the 2019 Imperial College London.

September 16-18, 2020 Presentation 

The research results were presented at the 69th Symposium on Macromolecules @ Online Virtual Meeting
 (Sato, Nasu, Nishimae, Nochi)


June, 2020 Publication

Sato Lab's Dian Marlina (graduated from the doctoral program in 2019)'s paper " A Study on Blend Ratio-dependent Far-IR and Low-frequency Raman Spectra and WAXD Patterns of Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)/poly(4-vinylphenol) Using Homospectral and Heterospectral Two-dimensional Correlation Spectroscopy”was published in Analytical Sciences. This is a study that captures the interaction in a polymer blend using vibration spectroscopy and 2DSCOS in the low frequency domain.

 

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