2021 Faculty Courses School of Materials and Chemical Technology Department of Materials Science and Engineering Graduate major in Materials Science and Engineering
Soft Materials
- Academic unit or major
- Graduate major in Materials Science and Engineering
- Instructor(s)
- Tsuyoshi Michinobu / Ryohei Ishige
- Class Format
- Lecture
- Media-enhanced courses
- -
- Day of week/Period
(Classrooms) - at Tsinghua Univ.
- Class
- -
- Course Code
- MAT.P483
- Number of credits
- 200
- Course offered
- 2021
- Offered quarter
- 3-4Q
- Syllabus updated
- Jul 10, 2025
- Language
- English
Syllabus
Course overview and goals
This course is for students in Tokyo Tech-Tsinghua University joint graduate program. The course is held at Tsinghua University in Beijing and mainly deals with the fundamental concepts of soft materials. Since the instructors and the topics change every year, the course contents will be revised every year. This year, the course will be divided into two: the former half will deal with structure and physical properties of soft matters including liquid crystal and polymers and the latter half will be synthesis and applications of organic semiconducting polymers.
Course description and aims
At the end of the course, students will acquire the following abilities:
1) Students will gain an understanding of thermodynamics of the hierarchical structures and the physical properties of soft matters and several analytical methods for them.
2) Students will understand how to produce organic semiconducting polymers and structure-property relationship.
Keywords
Liquid crystal, block copolymer, polyimide, self-organization, X-ray scattering, vibrational spectroscopy, polarized light, Organic semiconductor, Polymer synthesis, Cross-coupling reaction, Organic electroluminescence, Organic transistor, Organic photovoltaics
Competencies
- Specialist skills
- Intercultural skills
- Communication skills
- Critical thinking skills
- Practical and/or problem-solving skills
Class flow
This course will proceed in the following order: (1) hierachical structures of soft matters including polymers, (2) organic semiconducting polymers.
Course schedule/Objectives
| Course schedule | Objectives | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 1 | Thermodynamics of soft matters (1) | Explain soft matters on the basis of entropy |
| Class 2 | Thermodynamics of soft matters (2) | Explain the ordering mechanism of soft matters on the basis of entropy |
| Class 3 | Liquid crystalline polymers | Explain successive phase transition, orientation, and characteristics of liquid crystalline polymers |
| Class 4 | Polymer blends and block copolymers | Explain the ordering mechanism of polymer alloys with thermodynamics |
| Class 5 | Functional polymers | Explain how the functional polymers exhibit heat resistance properties with thermodynamics |
| Class 6 | Synchrotron (SR) X-ray scattering | Explain the methods of structural analyses on soft matters using SR-X-ray |
| Class 7 | Polarized vibrational spectroscopy | Explain molecular-orientation analyses based on polarized infrared absorbance and Raman scattering spectroscopies |
| Class 8 | Characteristics of Organic Semiconducting Polymers | Explain the characteristics of organic semiconducting polymers |
| Class 9 | Cross-Coupling Reactions | Explain the mechanism of cross-coupling reactions |
| Class 10 | Cross-Coupling Polymerization | Explain how to produce semiconducting polymers by cross-coupling polymerization |
| Class 11 | Direct Arylation Polymerization | Explain direct arylation polymerization |
| Class 12 | Organic Electroluminescence | Explain organic electroluminescence devices |
| Class 13 | Organic Transistors | Explain organic transistors |
| Class 14 | Organic Photovoltaics | Explain organic photovoltaics |
Study advice (preparation and review)
To enhance effective learning, students are encouraged to spend approximately 100 minutes preparing for class and another 100 minutes reviewing class content afterwards (including assignments) for each class.
They should do so by referring to textbooks and other course material.
Textbook(s)
Non required.
Reference books, course materials, etc.
Materials used in class can be found on OCW-i or T2SCHORA.
Evaluation methods and criteria
Practice problems and interpretation for confirming the level of understanding (90%), level of class participation (10%) (The level of class participation will be evaluated by discussion, brief examination in the lecture.)
Related courses
- CAP.P421 ： Special Lecture on Characterization of Polymer Structures and Properties
- CAP.P422 ： Advanced Polymer Properties
- CAP.P432 ： Elements of Polymer Science II
- MAT.P426 ： Thermal Properties of Materials
- MAT.P414 ： Soft Materials Function
Prerequisites
No prerequisites are necessary, but enrollment in the related courses is desirable.