Matsubara Laboratory, Kobe University, Graduate School of Science, Department of Chemistry

"Modifying molecules to impart function"—this is a unique privilege granted to organic chemists. The number of possible molecules is literally infinite. Far more molecules remain undiscovered and unsynthesized than those already known. Our research focuses on mining this vast reservoir of untapped molecular potential to discover compounds that are either useful to society or simply fascinating in their own right. Our current research is centered around two main areas:

One area involves the development of photochemical reactions and light-responsive molecules. For example, we have worked on photochemical reactions that convert CO2 into other molecules using sunlight (artificial photosynthesis), molecules that emit various colors of light, and compounds whose emission color or intensity changes in response to external stimuli. Light is the only virtually inexhaustible energy source available on Earth. We aim to harness its power to advance environmentally conscious chemistry.

The other area focuses on the synthesis of biologically active compounds and the development of new reactions to achieve this. With Matsubara’s background in pharmaceutical sciences, we are particularly interested in designing and synthesizing candidate compounds for drugs and agrochemicals, physiological research tools, and pheromone molecules.