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Managing the scarcity of chemical elements

Nature Materials volume 10, pages 158–161 (2011)Cite this article

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The issues associated with the supply of rare-earth metals are a vivid reminder to all of us that natural resources are limited. Japan's Element Strategy Initiative is a good example of a long-term strategy towards the sustainable use of scarce elements.

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Figure 1: Science and Technology Future Strategies (a Materials Science division) Workshop participated in by leading Japanese materials scientists, held in April 2004 in Hakone (Japan).
Figure 2
Figure 3: Aquamaterial: non-flammable and environmentally friendly, easy to mould, and with silicone-rubber-like properties.
Figure 4: Titanium oxide (inset photos) undergoing a phase transition induced by light.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge partial support by the Global COE Program, 'Chemistry Innovation through Cooperation of Science and Engineering', MEXT, Japan, and Strategic Promotion of Innovative Research and Development (Japan Science and Technology Agency). We thank H. Hosono, S. Murai, K. Tamao and T. Nakayama for advice.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Eiichi Nakamura and Kentaro Sato are in the Department of Chemistry, University of Tokyo, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan.,

    Eiichi Nakamura & Kentaro Sato

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  1. Eiichi Nakamura
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  2. Kentaro Sato
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Correspondence to Eiichi Nakamura or Kentaro Sato.

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Nakamura, E., Sato, K. Managing the scarcity of chemical elements. Nature Mater 10, 158–161 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat2969

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