Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090294088 | Forming foam structures with carbon foam substrates - The invention provides foams of desired cell sizes formed from metal or ceramic materials that coat the surfaces of carbon foams which are subsequently removed. For example, metal is located over a sol-gel foam monolith. The metal is melted to produce a metal/sol-gel composition. The sol-gel foam monolith is removed, leaving a metal foam. | 12-03-2009 |
20100139823 | PYROPHORIC METAL-CARBON FOAM COMPOSITES AND METHODS OF MAKING THE SAME - A method for creating a pyrophoric material according to one embodiment includes thermally activating a carbon foam for creating micropores therein; contacting the activated carbon foam with a liquid solution comprising a metal salt for depositing metal ions in the carbon foam; and reducing the metal ions in the foam to metal particles. A pyrophoric material in yet another embodiment includes a pyrophoric metal-carbon foam composite comprising a carbon foam having micropores and mesopores and a surface area of greater than or equal to about 2000 m | 06-10-2010 |
20100187484 | MECHANICALLY ROBUST, ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE ULTRALOW-DENSITY CARBON NANOTUBE-BASED AEROGELS - A method of making a mechanically robust, electrically conductive ultralow-density carbon nanotube-based aerogel, including the steps of dispersing nanotubes in an aqueous media or other media to form a suspension, adding reactants and catalyst to the suspension to create a reaction mixture, curing the reaction mixture to form a wet gel, drying the wet gel to produce a dry gel, and pyrolyzing the dry gel to produce the mechanically robust, electrically conductive ultralow-density carbon nanotube-based aerogel. The aerogel is mechanically robust, electrically conductive, and ultralow-density, and is made of a porous carbon material having 5 to 95% by weight carbon nanotubes and 5 to 95% carbon binder. | 07-29-2010 |
20100190639 | HIGH SURFACE AREA, ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE NANOCARBON-SUPPORTED METAL OXIDE - A metal oxide-carbon composite includes a carbon aerogel with an oxide overcoat. The metal oxide-carbon composite is made by providing a carbon aerogel, immersing the carbon aerogel in a metal oxide sol under a vacuum, raising the carbon aerogel with the metal oxide sol to atmospheric pressure, curing the carbon aerogel with the metal oxide sol at room temperature, and drying the carbon aerogel with the metal oxide sol to produce the metal oxide-carbon composite. The step of providing a carbon aerogel can provide an activated carbon aerogel or provide a carbon aerogel with carbon nanotubes that make the carbon aerogel mechanically robust. | 07-29-2010 |
20100230298 | NANOPOROUS CARBON ACTUATOR AND METHODS OF USE THEREOF - An electrochemically driveable actuator according to one embodiment includes a nanoporous carbon aerogel composition capable of exhibiting charge-induced reversible strain when wetted by an electrolyte and a voltage is applied thereto. An electrochemically driven actuator according to another embodiment includes a nanoporous carbon aerogel composition wetted by an electrolyte; and a mechanism for causing charge-induced reversible strain of the composition. A method for electrochemically actuating an object according to one embodiment includes causing charge-induced reversible strain of a nanoporous carbon aerogel composition wetted with an electrolyte to actuate the object by the strain. | 09-16-2010 |
20110024698 | Mechanically Stiff, Electrically Conductive Composites of Polymers and Carbon Nanotubes - Using SWNT-CA as scaffolds to fabricate stiff, highly conductive polymer (PDMS) composites. The SWNT-CA is immersing in a polymer resin to produce a SWNT-CA infiltrated with a polymer resin. The SWNT-CA infiltrated with a polymer resin is cured to produce the stiff and electrically conductive composite of carbon nanotube aerogel and polymer. | 02-03-2011 |
20120028798 | POROUS SUBSTRATES FILLED WITH NANOMATERIALS - A composition comprising: at least one porous carbon monolith, such as a carbon aerogel, comprising internal pores, and at least one nanomaterial, such as carbon nanotubes, disposed uniformly throughout the internal pores. The nanomaterial can be disposed in the middle of the monolith. In addition, a method for making a monolithic solid with both high surface area and good bulk electrical conductivity is provided. A porous substrate having a thickness of 100 microns or more and comprising macropores throughout its thickness is prepared. At least one catalyst is deposited inside the porous substrate. Subsequently, chemical vapor deposition is used to uniformly deposit a nanomaterial in the macropores throughout the thickness of the porous substrate. Applications include electrical energy storage, such as batteries and capacitors, and hydrogen storage. | 02-02-2012 |
20120034442 | GRAPHENE AEROGELS - Graphene aerogels with high conductivity and surface areas including a method for making a graphene aerogel, including the following steps: (1) preparing a reaction mixture comprising a graphene oxide suspension and at least one catalyst; (2) curing the reaction mixture to produce a wet gel; (3) drying the wet gel to produce a dry gel; and (4) pyrolyzing the dry gel to produce a graphene aerogel. Applications include electrical energy storage including batteries and supercapacitors. | 02-09-2012 |
20120037854 | MECHANICALLY STIFF, ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE COMPOSITES OF POLYMERS AND CARBON NANOTUBES - Using SWNT-CA as scaffolds to fabricate stiff, highly conductive polymer (PDMS) composites. The SWNT-CA is immersing in a polymer resin to produce a SWNT-CA infiltrated with a polymer resin. The SWNT-CA infiltrated with a polymer resin is cured to produce the stiff and electrically conductive composite of carbon nanotube aerogel and polymer. | 02-16-2012 |
20120122652 | HIGH SURFACE AREA, ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE NANOCARBON-SUPPORTED METAL OXIDE - A metal oxide-carbon composite includes a carbon aerogel with an oxide overcoat. The metal oxide-carbon composite is made by providing a carbon aerogel, immersing the carbon aerogel in a metal oxide sol under a vacuum, raising the carbon aerogel with the metal oxide sol to atmospheric pressure, curing the carbon aerogel with the metal oxide sol at room temperature, and drying the carbon aerogel with the metal oxide sol to produce the metal oxide-carbon composite. The step of providing a carbon aerogel can provide an activated carbon aerogel or provide a carbon aerogel with carbon nanotubes that make the carbon aerogel mechanically robust. | 05-17-2012 |
20120273359 | FLOW-THROUGH ELECTRODE CAPACITIVE DESALINATION - An electrode “flow-through” capacitive desalination system wherein feed water is pumped through the pores of a pair of monolithic porous electrodes separated by an ultrathin non-conducting porous film. The pair of monolithic porous electrodes are porous conductors made of a material such as activated carbon aerogel. The feed water flows through the electrodes and the spacing between electrodes is on the order 10 microns. | 11-01-2012 |
20130004761 | METHODS OF ELECTROPHORETIC DEPOSITION FOR FUNCTIONALLY GRADED POROUS NANOSTRUCTURES AND SYSTEMS THEREOF - In one embodiment, an aerogel includes a layer of shaped particles having a particle packing density gradient in a thickness direction of the layer, wherein the shaped particles are characterized by being formed in an electrophoretic deposition (EPD) process using an impurity. In another embodiment, a method for forming a functionally graded porous nanostructure includes adding particles of an impurity and a solution to an EPD chamber, applying a voltage difference across the two electrodes of the EPD chamber to create an electric field in the EPD chamber, and depositing the material onto surfaces of the particles of the impurity to form shaped particles of the material. Other functionally graded materials and methods are described according to more embodiments. | 01-03-2013 |
20130283846 | ADSORPTION COOLING SYSTEM USING METAL ORGANIC FRAMEWORKS - A highly adsorptive structure, includes: a substrate; and a metal-organic framework (MOF) comprising a plurality of metal atoms coordinated to a plurality of organic spacer molecules; wherein the MOF is coupled to at least one surface of the substrate, wherein the MOF is adapted for adsorbing and desorbing a refrigerant under predetermined thermodynamic conditions. The refrigerant includes one or more materials selected from the group consisting of: acid halides, alcohols, aldehydes, amines, chlorofluorocarbons, esters, ethers, fluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, halocarbons, halogenated aldehydes, halogenated amines, halogenated hydrocarbons, halomethanes, hydrocarbons, hydrochlorofluorocarbons, hydrofluoroethers, hydrofluoroolefins, inorganic gases, ketones, nitrocarbon compounds, noble gases, organochlorine compounds, organofluorine compounds, organophosphorous compounds, organosilicon compounds, oxide gases, refrigerant blends and thiols. | 10-31-2013 |
20130283847 | ADSORPTION COOLING SYSTEM USING CARBON AEROGEL - A highly adsorptive structure includes: a substrate; and a carbon aerogel adhered to the substrate, wherein the carbon aerogel is characterized by having physical characteristics of in-situ formation on the substrate, and wherein the carbon aerogel is configured to selectively adsorb and desorb one or more refrigerants selected from the group consisting of: acid halides, alcohols, aldehydes, amines, chlorofluorocarbons, esters, ethers, fluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, halocarbons, halogenated aldehydes, halogenated amines, halogenated hydrocarbons, halomethanes, hydrocarbons, hydrochlorofluorocarbons, hydrofluoroethers, hydrofluoroolefins, inorganic gases, ketones, nitrocarbon compounds, noble gases, organochlorine compounds, organofluorine compounds, organophosphorous compounds, organosilicon compounds, oxide gases, refrigerant blends and thiols. | 10-31-2013 |
20140178289 | HIGH-DENSITY 3D GRAPHENE-BASED MONOLITH AND RELATED MATERIALS, METHODS, AND DEVICES - A composition comprising at least one high-density graphene-based monolith, said monolith comprising a three-dimensional structure of graphene sheets crosslinked by covalent carbon bonds and having a density of at least 0.1 g/cm | 06-26-2014 |
20140178759 | GRAPHENE-SUPPORTED METAL OXIDE MONOLITH - A composition comprising at least one graphene-supported metal oxide monolith, said monolith comprising a three-dimensional structure of graphene sheets crosslinked by covalent carbon bonds, wherein the graphene sheets are coated by at least one metal oxide such as iron oxide or titanium oxide. Also provided is an electrode comprising the aforementioned graphene-supported metal oxide monolith, wherein the electrode can be substantially free of any carbon-black and substantially free of any binder. | 06-26-2014 |
20140217330 | HIGH SURFACE AREA, ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE NANOCARBON-SUPPORTED METAL OXIDE - A metal oxide-carbon composite includes a carbon aerogel with an oxide overcoat. The metal oxide-carbon composite is made by providing a carbon aerogel, immersing the carbon aerogel in a metal oxide sol under a vacuum, raising the carbon aerogel with the metal oxide sol to atmospheric pressure, curing the carbon aerogel with the metal oxide sol at room temperature, and drying the carbon aerogel with the metal oxide sol to produce the metal oxide-carbon composite. The step of providing a carbon aerogel can provide an activated carbon aerogel or provide a carbon aerogel with carbon nanotubes that make the carbon aerogel mechanically robust. | 08-07-2014 |
20150072267 | ENERGY HARVESTING WITH FLOW-THROUGH POROUS ELECTRODES - An apparatus for harvesting energy from fresh water and salt water, including a first porous electrode having first pores, a second porous electrode having second pores, a non-conducting permeable separator between the first porous electrode and the second porous electrode, a system for applying an electric potential difference between the first porous electrode, and the second porous electrode, and a system for flowing the fresh water and the salt water through the first porous electrode having first pores, through the non-conducting permeable separator, and through the second porous electrode having second pores thereby harvesting energy from the fresh water and the salt water. | 03-12-2015 |