Publications

Reversible and Massive Structural Transformation in Meltable Cyanido-bridged Coordination Polymer Crystals

Y. Iwai, S. Kimura, M. Nakaya, T. Nakane, A. Kawamoto, G. Kurisu, Y. Tsuji, K. Hirai, K. Kimoto, O. Cretu, F. Takeiri, K. Sugimoto, B. Le Ouay, M. Ohba, R. Ohtani

Chem. Eur. J., 2025, 31, e02640.

Raman spectroscopy and FRAP analysis on density heterogeneity and diffusion behavior of complex coacervation by arginine-rich dipeptides and poly-A RNA

Y. Tian, Q. Zhang, J. Li, M. Tsutsumi, T. Inose, F. Taemaitree, K. Hirai, K. Kanekura, H. Uji-i

ACS Omega, 2025, 10, 40056–40065.

Nanoscale Chemical Characterization of Functionalized Graphene by Heterodyne AFM-IR and Chemical Force Microscopy

R. Kumagai, M. Takahashi, N. Suzuki, K. Hirai, H. Watanabe, H. Uji-i, Y. Fujita

Nanoscale, 2025, 17, 17016–17023.

Accessing a Hidden Pathway to Supramolecular Toroid through Vibrational Strong Coupling

S. Imai, T. Hamada, M. Nozaki, T. Fujita, M. Takahashi, Y. Fujita, K. Harano, H. Uji-i, A. Takai, K. Hirai

J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2025, 147, 23528–23535.

A Sub-diffraction-limit Dimension All-plasmonic Optical Memory using Non-linear Photochromism

S. Toyouchi, M. Wolf, K. Hirai, Y. Fujita, T. Inose, B. Fortuni, E. Fron, J. Hofkens, S. De Feyter, J. Hutchison, T. Fukaminato, H. Uji-i

Adv. Sci., 2025, 12, 2502890.

Optical Cavity Enhancement of Visible Light-Driven Photochemical Reaction in the Crystalline State

I. Sasaki, K. Takahashi, F. Taemaitree, T. Nakamura, J. A. Hutchison, H. Uji-i, K. Hirai

Chem. Commun., in press.

Molecular Assembly in Optical Cavities

K. Hirai, H. Uji-i

Chem. Asian J., 2025, 20, e202401262

Mechanical properties of modulative undulating layers in two-dimensional metal–organic frameworks

Y. Iwai, S. Kusumoto, R. Suzuki, M. Tachibana, K. Komatsu, T. Kikuchi, S. I. Kawaguchi, H. Kadobayashi, Y. Masubuchi, Y. Yamamoto, Y. Ozawa, M. Abe, K. Hirai, B. Le Ouay, M. Ohba, R. Ohtani

Chem. Mater., 2024, 36, 5446–5455.

Spatially Heterogeneous Dynamics of Droplets Formed by Arginine-Rich Dipeptides and Poly-A RNA during Liquid-Liquid Phase Separation

Y. Tian, Q. Zhang, K. Hirai, H. Wen, G. Feng, J. Li, F. Taemaitree, T. Inose, K. Kanekura, H. Uji-i

Mol. Cryst. Liq. Cryst., 2024, 768 (11), 403–409.

Optical Cavity Design and Functionality for Molecular Strong Coupling

K. Hirai, J. A. Hutchison, H. Uji-i

Chem. Eur. J., 2024, 30, e202303110.

A Light-mediated Covalently Patterned Graphene Substrate for Graphene-Enhanced Raman Scattering

G. Feng, N. Suzuki, Q. Zhang, J. Li, T. Inose, F. Taemaitree, K. M. M. Shameem, S. Toyouchi, Y. Fujita, K. Hirai, H. Uji-i

Chem. Commun., 2023, 59, 11417-11420.

Visualizing Ribbon-to-Ribbon Heterogeneity of Chemically Unzipped Graphene Nanoribbons by Silver Nanowire-Based Tip-Enhanced Raman Scattering Microscopy

T. Inose, S. Toyouchi, S. Hara, S. Sugioka, P. Walke, R. Oyabu, B. Fortuni, W. Peeters, Y. Usami, K. Hirai, S. De Feyter, Y. Fujita, H. Uji-i, H. Tanaka

Small, 2024, 20, 2301841.

Liquid-Phase Photo-induced Covalent Modification (PICM) of Single-Layer Graphene by Short-Chain Fatty Acids

G. Feng, T. Inose, N. Suzuki, H. Wen, F. Taemaitree, M. Wolf, S. Toyouchi, Y. Fujita, K. Hirai, H. Uji-i

Nanoscale 2023, 15, 4932–4939.

Gold-Coated Silver Nanowires for Long Lifetime AFM-TERS Probes  

H. Wen, T. Inose, K. Hirai, T. Akashi, S. Sugioka, J. Li, W. Peeters, E. Fron, B. Fortuni, Y. Nakata, S. Rocha,  S. Toyouchi, Y. Fujita, H. Ujii

Nanoscale 2022, 14, 5439-5446.

Li@C60 thin films: characterization and nonlinear optical properties  

M. Wolf, S. Toyouchi, P. Walke, K. Umemoto, A. Masuhara, H. Fukumura, Y. Takano, M. Yamada, K. Hirai, E. Fron, H. Uji-i

RSC Adv. 2022, 12, 389-394.

Gold-Photodeposited Silver Nanowire Endoscopy for Cytosolic and Nuclear pH Sensing 

Q. Zhang, T. Inose, M. Ricci, J. Li, Y. Tian, H. Wen, S. Toyouchi, E. Fron, A. Dao, H. Kasai, S. Rocha, K. Hirai, B. Fortuni, H. Uji-i

ACS Appl. Nano Mater. 2021, 4, 9886-9894.

Selective Crystallization via Vibrational Strong Coupling

K. Hirai, H. Ishikawa, T. Chervy, J. A. Hutchison, H. Uji-i 

Chem. Sci. 2021, 12, 11986-11994. (HOT Article)

Controlling polymorphism of metal-organic frameworks

K. Hirai, A. Nagahashi, T. Kitagawa, H. Uji-i

SPIE Proceedings, 11795-32.

Data Science Assisted Investigation of Catalytically Active Copper Hydrate in Zeolites for Direct Oxidation of Methane to Methanol Using H2O2

J. Ohyama, A. Hirayama, N. Kondou, H. Yoshida, M. Machida, S. Nishimura, K. Hirai, I. Miyazato, K. Takahashi 

Sci. Rep. 2021, 11, 2067.

Polariton Chemistry in Cavity Vacuum Fields

K. Hirai, H. Uji-i 

Chem. Lett. 2021, 50, 727-732. (Highlight Review)

Adaptive Optical Two-photon Microscopy for Surface profiled Living Biological Specimens

K. Yamaguchi, K. Otomo, Y. Kozawa, M. Tsutsumi, T. Inose, K. Hirai, S. Sato, T. Nemoto, H. Uji-i 

ACS Omega 2021, 6, 438-447. (Supplementary Cover)

Label-free visualization of heterogeneities and defects in metal-organic frameworks using nonlinear optics 

M. Wolf, K. Hirai, S. Toyouchi, E. Fron, W. Peeters, S. De Feyter, H. Uji-i 

Chem. Commun. 2020, 56, 13331-13334. (Inside Back Cover)

Recent Progress in Vibropolaritonic Chemistry  

K. Hirai, J. A. Hutchison, H. Uji-i

ChemPlusChem 2020, 85, 1981-1988. (Very Important Paper)

Multicolour photochromic fluorescence of a fluorophore encapsulated in a metal–organic framework 

K. Hirai, T. Kitagawa, H. Fujiwara, J. Pirillo, Y. Hijikata, T. Inose, H. Uji-i

Chem. Commun. 2020, 56, 9651-9654.

Low-Cytotoxic Gold-Coated Silver Nanoflowers for Intracellular pH Sensing 

Q. Zhang, H. Wen, K. Watanabe, I. Kotani, M. Ricci, B. Fortuni, A. Dao, A. Masuhara, K. Hirai, H. Kasai, T. Inose, H. Uji-i

ACS Appl. Nano Mater. 2020, 3, 7643-7650.

Pseudo-Membrane Jackets: Two-Dimensional Coordination Polymers Achieving Visible Phase Separation in Cell Membrane

R. Ohtani K. Kawano, M. Kinoshita, S. Yanaka, H. Watanabe, K. Hirai, S. Futaki, N. Matsumori, H. Uji-i, M. Ohba, K. Kato, S. Hayami 

Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2020, 59, 17931–17937. (Hot Paper)

Controlled Fabrication of Optical Signal Input/Output Sites on Plasmonic Nanowires

S. Toyouchi, M. Wolf, Y. Nakao, Y. Fujita, T. Inose, B. Fortuni, K. Hirai, J. Hofkens, S. De Feyter, J. A. Hutchison, H.  Uji-i

Nano Lett. 2020, 20, 2460-2467.

Modulation of Prins Cyclization by Vibrational Strong Coupling 

K. Hirai, R. Takeda, J. A. Hutchison, H. Uji-i

Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2020, 59, 5332-5335. (Very Important Paper)

Water-Mediated Polyol Synthesis of Pencil-like Silver Nanowires Suitable for Nonlinear Plasmonics

T. Inose, S. Toyouchi, L. Gang, K. Umemoto, Y. Tezuka, B. Lyu, A. Masuhara, E. Fron, Y. Fujita, K. Hirai, H. Uji-i 

Chem. Commun. 2019, 55, 11630-11633. 

The Rise of Catalyst Informatics: Towards Catalyst Genomics

K. Takahashi, L. Takahashi, I. Miyazato, J. Fujima, Y. Tanaka, T. Uno, H. Satoh, K. Ohno, M. Nishida, K. Hirai, J. Ohyama, T. N. Nguyen, S. Nishimura

ChemCatChem 2019, 11, 1146-1152. 

Pyrolysis of Helical Coordination Polymers for Metal-Sulfide-Based Helices with Broadband Chiroptical Activity

K. Hirai, B. Yeom, K. Sada 

ACS Nano 2017, 11, 5309-5317. 

Infrared Laser Writing of MOFs

K. Hirai, K. Sada

Chem. Commun. 2017, 53, 5275-5278. (Inside back Cover)

Solid-Solution Coordination Polymers as Precursors for ZnxCd1-xS/C Composite Nanowires 

S. Tajima, Y. Kuroshima, T. Katayama, N. Tamai, K. Sada, K. Hirai

Eur. J. Inorg. Chem. 2017, 11, 1469-1476. (Very Important Paper)

Nanoparticle Assemblies into Luminescent Dendrites in Shrinking Microdroplets

T. Kojima, K. Hirai, Y. Zhou, P. Weerappuli, S. Takayama, N. A. Kotov

Langmuir 2016, 32, 12468-12475. 

Gas-generated thermal oxidation of a coordination cluster for an anion-doped mesoporous metal oxide

K.Hirai, S. Isobe, K. Sada

Sci. Rep. 2015, 5, 18468. 

Coordination Assembly of Discoid Nanoparticles

K. Hirai, B. Yeom, S. H. Chang, H. Chi, J. F. Mansfield, B. Lee, S. Lee, C. Uher, N. A. Kotov

Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2015, 54, 8966-8970. (Inside Cover) 

Diffusion-Coupled Molecular Assembly: Structuring of Coordination Polymers across Multiple Length Scales

K. Hirai, J. Reboul, N. Morone, J. F. Heuser, S. Furukawa, S. Kitagawa

J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2014, 136, 14966-14973. 

Confined synthesis of CdSe quantum dots in the pores of metal-organic frameworks

T. Wakaoka, K. Hirai, K. Murayama, Y. Takano, H. Takagi, S. Furukawa, S. Kitagawa

J. Mater. Chem. C 2014, 2, 7173-7175. 

Trapping of a Spatial Transient State During the Framework Transformation of a Porous Coordination Polymer

M. Kondo, S. Furukawa, K. Hirai, N. Louvain, T. Tsuruoka, J. Reboul, H. Uehara, S. Diring, O. Sakata, S. Kitagawa 

J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2014, 136, 4032–4038. 

Impact of crystal orientation on the adsorption kinetics of a porous coordination polymer/quartz crystal microbalance hybrid sensor 

K. Hirai, K. Sumida, M. Meilikhov, N. Louvain, M. Nakahama, H. Uehara, S. Kitagawa, S. Furukawa 

J. Mater. Chem. C 2014, 2, 3336-3344. 

Programmed crystallization via epitaxial growth and ligand replacement towards hybridized porous coordination polymers 

K. Hirai, K. Chen, T. Fukushima, S. Horike, M. Kondo, M. Meilikhov, N. Louvain, C. Kim, Y. Sakata, O. Sakata, S. Kitagawa, S. Furukawa 

Dalton Trans. 2013, 42, 15868-15872. 

Shape Memory Nanopores Induced in Coordination Frameworks by Crystal Downsizing

Y. Sakata, S. Furukawa, M. Kondo, K. Hirai, N. Horike, Y. Takashima, H. Uehara, N. Louvain, M. Meilikhov, T. Tsuruoka, S. Isoda, W. Kosaka, O. Sakata, S. Kitagawa

Science 2013, 339, 193-196. 

Binary Janus Porous Coordination Polymer Coating for Sensor Devices with Tunable Analyte Affinity

M. Meilikhov, S. Furukawa, K. Hirai, R. A. Fischer, S. Kitagawa

Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2013, 52, 341-345. 

Mesoscopic architectures of porous coordination polymers fabricated by pseudomorphic replication

J. Reboul, S. Furukawa, N. Horike, M. Tsotsalas, K. Hirai, H. Uehara, M. Kondo, N. Louvain, O. Sakata, S. Kitagawa

Nature Mater. 2012, 11, 717-723. (Front Cover) 

Targeted functionalization of a hierarchically-structured porous coordination polymer crystal enhances its entire function

K. Hirai, S. Furukawa, M. Kondo, M. Meilikhov, Y. Sakata, O. Sakata, S. Kitagawa 

Chem. Commun. 2012, 48, 6472-6474. (Front Cover)

Redox reaction in tow-dimensional porous coordination polymers based on ferrocenedicarboxylate

K. Hirai, H. Uehara, S. Kitagawa, S. Furukawa

Dalton Trans. 2012, 41, 3924-3927. 

Porous Coordination Polymer Hybrid Device with Quartz Oscillator: Effect of Crystal Size on Sorption Kinetics

H. Uehara, S. Diring, S. Furukawa, Z. Kalay, M. Tsotsalas, M. Nakahama, K. Hirai, M. Kondo, O. Sakata, S. Kitagawa

J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2011, 133, 11932-11935. 

Liquid Phase Separation of Polyaromatics on [Cu2(BDC)2(dabco)]

M. Maes, S. Schouteden, K. Hirai, S. Furukawa, S. Kitagawa, D. E. De Vos

Langmuir 2011, 27, 9083-9087. 

Sequential Functionalization of Porous Coordination Polymer Crystals

K. Hirai, S. Furukawa, M. Kondo, H. Uehara, O. Sakata, S. Kitagawa

Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2011, 50, 8057-8061. 

MOF-on-MOF Heteroepitaxy: Perfectly oriented [Zn2(ndc)2(dabco)]n grown on [Cu2(ndc)2(dabco)]n thin films

O. Shekhah, K. Hirai, H. Wang, H. Uehara, M. Kondo, S. Diring, D. Zacher, R. A. Fischer, O. Sakata, S. Kitagawa, S. Furukawa, C. Wöll

Dalton Trans. 2011, 40,4954-4958. 

Fabrication of Coordinatively Immobilized Monolayers on Porous Coordination Polymer Crystals

M. Kondo, S. Furukawa, K. Hirai, S. Kitagawa

Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2010, 49, 5327-5330. 

A block PCP crystal: anisotropic hybridization of porous coordination polymers by face-selective epitaxial growth

S. Furukawa, K. Hirai, Y. Takashima, K. Nakagawa, M. Kondo, T. Tsuruoka, O. Sakata, S. Kitagawa

Chem. Commun. 2009, 5097-5099. 

Heterogeneously Hybridized Porous Coordination Polymer Crystals: Fabrication of Heterometallic Core Shell Single Crystals with an In-Plane Rotational Epitaxial Relationship

S. Furukawa, K. Hirai, K. Nakagawa, Y. Takashima, R. Matsuda, T. Tsuruoka, M. Kondo, R. Haruki, D. Tanaka, H. Sakamoto, S. Shimomura, O. Sakata, S. Kitagawa

Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2009, 48, 1766-1770. (Hot Paper & Front Cover)