Three-Dimensional Visualization of Sulfur Chemical States – Observing Chemical States Inside Materials at the Nanoscale –
A research group consisting of graduate student Yuhei Sasaki from the Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University; Associate Professor Shi Ishiguro and Professor Yukio Takahashi from the Center for Synchrotron Radiation Innovation Smart (SRIS), Tohoku University; and Dr. Fusae Kaneko of Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd. (also a Specially Appointed Associate Professor at SRIS), has successfully visualized the three-dimensional chemical states of sulfur within a polymer material.
Using the BL10U beamline at NanoTerasu, a 3 GeV high-brilliance synchrotron radiation facility, the researchers applied X-ray ptychographic computed tomography (CT) at the sulfur K-edge. This enabled them to observe the chemical states of sulfur inside a polymer material several micrometers (μm; 1 μm = one millionth of a meter) thick with a spatial resolution of approximately 80 nanometers (nm; 1 nm = one billionth of a meter).
Tohoku University Press Release (Tohoku University website):
https://www.tohoku.ac.jp/japanese/2026/07/press20260709-02-EtchedHoles.html
Tohoku University Press Release (SRIS website):
https://www.sris.tohoku.ac.jp/research/detail—id-262.html
