R&D Reports "SUMITOMO KAGAKU (English Edition)"

FY 2011

vol. 2011 - II (2011.11.30 issue)

Diesel particulate filters have contributed to decreasing particulate matter (PM) in the exhaust gas of diesel cars, and they have become standard diesel exhaust gas after-treatment devices. Silicon carbide (SiC) is currently used as a material in these filters due to its high thermal stability. Aluminum titanate (AT) is recognized as a candidate for the next generation of filters due to advantages not only in manufacturing cost but also in superior performance.
We have developed an innovative AT filter, and in this paper we introduce its design concepts and validation results.
(by Akiyoshi NEMOTO, Kentaro IWASAKI, Osamu YAMANISHI, Kazuya TSUCHIMOTO, Kousuke UOE, Tetsuro TOMA, Hajime YOSHINO)

Propyrisulfuron is a novel sulfonylurea herbicide with a fused heterocyclic moiety, developed by Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. Propyrisulfuron is used as a rice herbicide to control annual and perennial paddy weeds, including Echinochloa spp., sedges and broadleaf weeds. Propyrisulfuron controls weed biotypes that have developed resistance to the commercialized sulfonylurea herbicides. Propyrisulfuron shows safer profiles for human health and the environment. The granular formulation, suspension concentrate formulation and jumbo formulation (granules packed in water-soluble film) are available in Japan with the brand name of ZETA-ONE®.
(by Hajime IKEDA, Shigeyuki ITO, Yukio OKADA, Kazuki MIKATA, Mariko ENDO, Ichiro KOMOTO)

To review recent topics on impact analysis in the field of plastics, this report outlines the application trends and analysis techniques followed by an explanation of the characteristic physical properties of resins which may be the key points for their practical application. First we introduce how we predict yield stress under a wide range of temperatures and strain rates. Second, for the elastic-plastic model, we explain that it may be appropriate to consider dependence of yield stress on stress state and volume increase due to craze generation. Finally, we show how fracture behavior depends on temperature and strain rate.
(by Masaaki TSUTSUBUCHI, Tomoo HIROTA, Yasuhito NIWA, Tai SHIMASAKI)

The performance of ULSIs (Ultra Large Scale Integrated Circuits) has been dramatically enhanced over 30 years by increasing the number of transistors per unit area and the operation speed per single gate simultaneously by the miniaturization technology through the guiding principle of the scaling rule applied to Si CMOSFETs (Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors). However, miniaturization of the transistors becomes increasingly difficult due to physical limitations, and the conventional scaling rule will not be enough to enhance the performance of the ULSIs. Thus introducing new device structure, new processes, and new materials become increasingly important. The present status of and future prospects for new semiconductor materials for next generation ULSIs are reviewed in this paper.
(by Masahiko HATA, Shinichi TAKAGI, Mitsuru TAKENAKA, Tetsuji YASUDA)

vol. 2011 - I (2011.5.31 issue)

Isotianil (Stout®) is a novel fungicide which induces systemic acquired resistance in plants. It has excellent preventive effects at low dosages against rice blast which is one of the most serious diseases in rice. We started a study on its mixture formulation in 2005 with our insecticide, clothianidin, and in May 2010 acquired pesticide registration approval for Stout® Dantotsu® granule for nursery-box treatment and Stout® Dantotsu® 08 granule for nurserybox treatment which have excellent efficacy against rice pests and leaf blast in paddy fields. Its low phytotoxicity to rice provides us with a wide range of application timing from seeding to transplanting. These properties enable rice farmers to distribute work and to improve work efficiency. The basic property of efficacy against rice blast, granule formulation properties, mammalian toxicity, residues, environmental fate and behavior and ecotoxicity of isotianil are reviewed in this report.
(by Masaomi OGAWA, Atsushi KADOWAKI, Tomoya YAMADA, Orie KADOOKA)

Recently Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. has developed two types of innovative liquid-crystalline polymer resins (abbreviated to LCP) for use in the area of high-power LED applications. One is a novel catalyst-polymerized LCP and the other one is our original soluble LCP. Catalyst-polymerized LCP has been applied to high-power LED package housing materials by making the best use of the resin whiteness and heat resistance. Some commercial compound grades mainly composed of catalyst-polymerized resin have already been accepted by customers in LED applications such as TVs, lighting and pocket projectors.
On the other hand, by succeeding in the solubilization of LCP and the development of cast films, Sumitomo Chemical has made applications in substrates incorporated into components which use films with a high level loading of inorganic filler compared to extrusion and tubular film processes. By using original techniques, we have developed super high thermal conductive circuit boards for use in high-power LED applications such as BLU and lighting to extend LED lifetimes. In the present report we introduce the latest situation.
(by Satoshi OKAMOTO, Yasuo MATSUMI, Shintaro SAITO, Ryo MIYAKOSHI, Takeshi KONDO)

The market for solution styrene-butadiene rubber (S-SBR) which is mainly used for the treads of the energysaving tires for automobiles has continued to expand rapidly while the fuel efficiency requirements for automobiles have been tightened worldwide. It is estimated that the annual S-SBR demand for 2011 will be between 400 and 350 thousands tons.
We have supplied special S-SBR with controlled molecular weight, molecular weight distribution and quantitative end-functionality to both domestic and international tire manufacturing companies and our S-SBR has been highly regarded.
This review first describes an overview of the recent situation for high performance energy-saving tires, then gives some details of our technology for both polymer design and synthesis and of the latest general analysis technologies.
(by Mayumi HAYASHI, Hisakatsu HAMA, Katsunari INAGAKI)

Miriplatin was approved for lipiodolization for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma in 2009. It is a lipophilic platinum complex containing myristates as leaving groups, and can be easily suspended in ethyl esters of iodized fatty acids obtained from poppy seed oil. Miriplatin suspension was active and was retained selectively in rat hepatic tumors after intra-hepatic arterial administration with reduced toxicities in normal livers and the whole body. In this review, we summarize the characteristic formulation, preclinical studies, and clinical studies of miriplatin.
(by Kazunari TANAKA, Takeshi KUNIMATSU, Jin SHIMAKURA, Mitsuharu HANADA)

Ecotoxicological risk assessment of pesticides in terrestrial ecosystems in particular has become one of the most important areas in scientific pesticide evaluation for consideration of biodiversity preservation. In order to develop safer pesticides, Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. has been evaluating our pesticides by utilizing scientific knowledge and state-of-the-art techniques in accordance with the latest regulatory criteria for the ecological risk assessment in complicated terrestrial ecosystems. In this article, outlines of the terrestrial ecological risk assessment procedures in the EU, USA and Japan are comparatively summarized and some examples of higher-tier ecotoxicological studies undertaken to demonstrate that our pesticides are benign to the terrestrial environment are introduced along with the recent progress in our research.
(by Toru UTSUMI, Mitsugu MIYAMOTO, Toshiyuki KATAGI)

The neutron diffraction method is a powerful tool for analysis of inorganic crystals. This method enables us to discuss details of transition metals as well as light elements, for example lithium and oxygen, in crystals. Moreover, it is possible to analyze crystals consisting of two or more different transition metals using this method. In this paper, a brief overview of the neutron diffraction method is provided and some applications of the method to analysis of cathode materials for lithium ion batteries are shown.
(by Toshinao SHIOYA)

In chemical plants, adequate emergency response procedures must be prearranged to prevent incidents (e.g. gas leakage) from leading to major accidents. Installing gas detectors at appropriate locations is one of the indispensable conditions for the implementation of emergency response plans. This paper introduces the procedure for optimization of gas detector locations by application of atmospheric dispersion modeling tools which take into account differing plant conditions.
(by Eisaburo MIYATA, Shigeki MORI)

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