Dedicated to Professor Sumio Sakka, Founding Editor of Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology

Excerpt

No doubt, the prominent and rich history of “Sol-Gel Research in Japan” owes its origins to the scientific/technological field of glass and ceramic materials, which showed remarkable progress in the preceding decades. In the early years, before 1980, of sol-gel research in Japan, this novel method attracted a limited number of researchers in academia and industry involved in work related to glasses and ceramics. In the “(First) International Workshop on Glasses and Glass Ceramics from Gels (Padova, October 1981)”, Professors S. Sakka, Kyoto University (Mie University at that time), and M. Yamane, Tokyo Institute of Technology, both of whom were leading active groups on glass science, were among 18 oral presenters. Companies involved in the production of glass/ceramic materials started to launch sol-gel research activities after the workshop. The applications were mainly focused on films, coatings and fibers with inorganic compositions. It is noteworthy that the Japanese company, Sumitomo Chemical Co. Ltd., had already commercialized alumina fibers using metal-organic precursors before 1980. A detailed account of the global dawn of sol-gel research can be found in the recent article of Professor Sakka himself [1]. …