Patent application number | Description | Published |
20140174905 | PHOTO-CATALYTIC SYSTEMS FOR THE PRODUCTION OF HYDROGEN - A system and method for splitting water to produce hydrogen and oxygen employing sunlight energy are disclosed. Hydrogen and oxygen may then be stored for later use as fuels. The system and method use inorganic capping agents that cap the surface of semiconductor nanocrystals to form photocatalytic capped colloidal nanocrystals, which may be deposited on a substrate and treated to form a photoactive material. The photoactive material may be employed in the system to harvest sunlight and produce energy necessary for water splitting. The system may also include elements necessary to collect, transfer and store hydrogen and oxygen, for subsequent transformation into electrical energy. | 06-26-2014 |
20140174906 | PHOTOCATALYTIC SYSTEM FOR THE REDUCTION OF CARBON DIOXIDE - A system and method employing sunlight energy for the reduction of carbon dioxide into methane and water are disclosed. Methane gas may then be stored for later use as fuel. The system and method may use inorganic capping agents that cap the surface of semiconductor nanocrystals to form photocatalytic capped colloidal nanocrystals, which may be deposited on a substrate and treated to form a photoactive material. The photoactive material may be employed in the system to harvest sunlight and produce energy necessary for carbon dioxide reduction. The system may also include elements necessary to collect and transfer methane, for subsequent transformation into electrical energy. | 06-26-2014 |
20140179512 | PHOTOCATALYST FOR THE PRODUCTION OF HYDROGEN - A method and composition for making photocatalytic capped colloidal nanocrystals include semiconductor nanocrystals and inorganic capping agents as photocatalysts. The photocatalytic capped colloidal nanocrystals may be deposited on a substrate and treated to form a photoactive material that may be used in a plurality of photocatalytic energy conversion applications such as water splitting. By combining different semiconductor materials for photocatalytic capped colloidal nanocrystals employed and by changing the semiconductor nanocrystals shapes and sizes, band gaps can be tuned to expand the range of wavelengths of sunlight usable by the photoactive material. The disclosed photocatalytic capped colloidal nanocrystals within the photoactive material may also exhibit a higher efficiency of solar energy conversion process derived from a higher surface area of the semiconductor nanocrystals within photocatalytic capped colloidal nanocrystals available for the absorption of sunlight and enhancement of charge carrier dynamics. | 06-26-2014 |
20140209478 | Artificial Photosynthetic System Using Photocatalyst - A photosynthetic system for splitting water to produce hydrogen and using the produced hydrogen for the reduction of carbon dioxide into methane is disclosed. The disclosed photosynthetic system employs photoactive materials that include photocatalytic capped colloidal nanocrystals within their composition, in order to harvest sunlight and obtain the energy necessary for water splitting and subsequent carbon dioxide reduction processes. The photosynthetic system may also include elements necessary to transfer water produced in the carbon dioxide reduction process, for subsequent use in water splitting process. The systems may also include elements necessary to store oxygen and collect and transfer methane, for subsequent transformation of methane into energy. | 07-31-2014 |
20140209856 | Light Emitting Device with All-Inorganic Nanostructured Films - A fused film and methods for making the fused film to be employed in a light emitting device are provided. In one embodiment, the disclosure provides a method for forming a film from fused all-inorganic colloidal nanostructures, where the all-inorganic colloidal nanostructures may include inorganic semiconductor nanoparticles and functional inorganic ligands that may be fused to form an electrical network that is electroluminescent. In another embodiment, the disclosure provides a light-emitting device including the fused film that minimizes current leakage in the device and provides increased stability, longevity, and luminescent efficiency to the device. | 07-31-2014 |
20140213427 | Photocatalyst for the Reduction of Carbon Dioxide - The present disclosure relates to a method and composition for forming photocatalytic capped colloidal nanocrystals which may include semiconductor nanocrystals and inorganic capping agents as photocatalysts. Photocatalytic capped colloidal nanocrystals may be deposited on a substrate and treated to form a photoactive material which may be employed in a plurality of photocatalytic energy conversion applications such as the photocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide. Different semiconductor materials, shapes and sizes may be combined when forming photocatalytic capped colloidal nanocrystals, allowing band gaps to be tuned and expand the range of wavelengths of sunlight usable by the photoactive material. The disclosed photocatalytic capped colloidal nanocrystals, within the photoactive material, may also exhibit a higher efficiency of solar energy conversion process, derived from a higher surface area of the semiconductor nanocrystals within photocatalytic capped colloidal nanocrystals available for the absorption of sunlight and enhancement of charge carrier dynamics. | 07-31-2014 |
20140251786 | System for Harvesting Oriented Light for Carbon Dioxide Reduction - A system and method for harvesting oriented light for reducing carbon dioxide to produce fuels, such as methane, are disclosed. The present disclosure also relates to oriented photocatalytic semiconductor surfaces that may include oriented photocatalytic capped colloidal nanocrystals (PCCN) which may form oriented photoactive materials. The disclosed photocatalytic system for harvesting oriented light may include a polarization system that employs reflective or polarizing surfaces, such as mirror surfaces for collecting solar energy, and orient the light rays for maximum absorption and energy conversion on oriented photoactive material. The photocatalytic system may also include elements necessary to collect and transfer methane, for subsequent transformation into electrical energy. | 09-11-2014 |
20140252275 | System for Harvesting Oriented Light - Water Splitting - A system and method for splitting water to produce hydrogen and oxygen employing focused polarized sunlight energy is disclosed. Hydrogen and oxygen may then be stored for later use as fuels. The system and method use inorganic capping agents that cap the surface of semiconductor nanocrystals to form photocatalytic capped colloidal nanocrystals, which may be deposited and oriented on a substrate to form an oriented photoactive material. The oriented photoactive material may be employed in the system to harvest sunlight and produce energy necessary for water splitting. The system may also include a light polarization system and elements necessary to collect, transfer, and store hydrogen and oxygen, for subsequent transformation into electrical energy. | 09-11-2014 |
20140256532 | Oriented Photocatalytic Semiconductor Surfaces - The present disclosure relates to oriented photocatalytic semiconductor surfaces which may include photocatalytic capped colloidal nanocrystals (PCCNs) positioned all in the same orientation. The photoactive material may be employed in a plurality of photocatalytic energy conversion applications such as the photocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide and water splitting, among others. The disclosed oriented PCCNs, within the oriented photoactive material, may also exhibit different shapes and sizes, and higher efficiency in a light harvesting process. Having all the PCCNs oriented at the same angle and dipole moment may allow the light to interact with the dipole at an increased efficiency, to predict the polarity of the light or a more efficient interaction with the nanocrystals substrate, and therefore, increasing the harvesting efficiency by controlling different parts of the light spectrum in the same system. | 09-11-2014 |
20140262743 | System for Harvesting Oriented Light for Water Splitting and Carbon Dioxide Reduction - A photosynthetic system for splitting water to produce hydrogen and using the produced hydrogen for the reduction of carbon dioxide into methane is disclosed. The disclosed photosynthetic system employs photoactive materials that include oriented photocatalytic capped colloidal nanocrystals (PCCN) within their composition, in order to harvest sunlight and obtain the energy necessary for water splitting and subsequent carbon dioxide reduction processes. The photosynthetic system may also include elements necessary to transfer water produced in the carbon dioxide reduction process, for subsequent use in water splitting process. The systems may also include elements necessary to store oxygen and collect and transfer methane for subsequent transformation of methane into energy. | 09-18-2014 |
20140301904 | System for Harvesting Oriented Light - Water Splitting - A system and method for splitting water to produce hydrogen and oxygen employing focused polarized sunlight energy is disclosed. Hydrogen and oxygen may then be stored for later use as fuels. The system and method use inorganic capping agents that cap the surface of semiconductor nanocrystals to form photocatalytic capped colloidal nanocrystals, which may be deposited and oriented on a substrate to form an oriented photoactive material. The oriented photoactive material may be employed in the system to harvest sunlight and produce energy necessary for water splitting. The system may also include a light polarization system and elements necessary to collect, transfer, and store hydrogen and oxygen, for subsequent transformation into electrical energy. | 10-09-2014 |
20140301905 | System for Harvesting Oriented Light - Water Splitting - A system and method for splitting water to produce hydrogen and oxygen employing focused polarized sunlight energy is disclosed. Hydrogen and oxygen may then be stored for later use as fuels. The system and method use inorganic capping agents that cap the surface of semiconductor nanocrystals to form photocatalytic capped colloidal nanocrystals, which may be deposited and oriented on a substrate to form an oriented photoactive material. The oriented photoactive material may be employed in the system to harvest sunlight and produce energy necessary for water splitting. The system may also include a light polarization system and elements necessary to collect, transfer, and store hydrogen and oxygen, for subsequent transformation into electrical energy. | 10-09-2014 |
20140319525 | OPTOELECTRONIC DEVICES WITH ALL-INORGANIC COLLOIDAL NANOSTRUCTURED FILMS - Optoelectronic devices and methods of producing the same are disclosed. Methods may include forming a film from fused all-inorganic colloidal nanostructures, where the nanostructures may include inorganic nanoparticles and functional inorganic ligands, and the fused nanostructures may form an electrical network that is photoconductive. Other methods may provide an optoelectronic device which may include an integrated circuit or large panel thin-film transistor matrix, an array of conductive regions, and an optically sensitive material over at least a portion of the integrated circuit and in electrical communication with at least one conductive region of the array of conductive regions. | 10-30-2014 |
20140339072 | Photocatalytic CO2 Reduction System - A system employing sunlight energy for reducing CO | 11-20-2014 |
20140342254 | Photo-catalytic Systems for Production of Hydrogen - A system for splitting water and producing hydrogen for later use as an energy source may include the use of a photoactive material including PCCN and plasmonic nanoparticles. A method for producing the PCCN may include a semiconductor nanocrystal synthesis and an exchange of organic capping agents with inorganic capping agents. The PCCN may be deposited between the plasmonic nanoparticles and may act as photocatalysts for redox reactions. The photoactive material may be used in presence of water and sunlight to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. Production of charge carriers may be triggered by photo-excitation and enhanced by the rapid electron resonance from localized surface plasmon resonance of plasmonic nanoparticles. By combining different semiconductor materials for PCCN and plasmonic nanoparticles and by changing their shapes and sizes, band gaps may be tuned to expand the range of wavelengths of sunlight usable by the photoactive material. The system may include elements for collecting, transferring, and storing hydrogen and oxygen, for subsequent transformation into electrical energy. | 11-20-2014 |