| Patent application number | Description | Published |
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| 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 |
| 20140262742 | Substrate for Increased Efficiency of Semiconductor Photocatalysts - A high surface area grid having two mesh sheets aligned in opposite direction to each other is disclosed. One mesh sheet may be horizontally aligned while the other may be vertically aligned. Piezoelectric actuators may be attached along the sides of each wire sheet, employing piezoelectric actuators to allow a precise control of the displacement of the wires. High surface area grid may be employed in the formation of a photoactive material, where semiconductor photocatalysts may be deposited onto high surface area grid. Photoactive material may be employed for a plurality of photocatalytic energy conversion applications such as water splitting and carbon dioxide reduction. Employing a high surface area grid with the capability of dynamically-controlled dimensions may increase efficiency of semiconductor photocatalysts on its surface. | 09-18-2014 |
| 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 |
| 20140262806 | Method for Increasing Efficiency of Semiconductor Photocatalysts - A method and composition for producing a photoactive material including photocatalytic capped colloidal nanocrystals (PCCN) and plasmonic nanoparticles are disclosed. The PCCN may include a semiconductor nanocrystal synthesis and an exchange of organic capping agents with inorganic capping agents. Additionally, the PCCN may be deposited between the plasmonic nanoparticles, and may act as photocatalysts for redox reactions. The photoactive material may be used in a plurality of photocatalytic energy conversion applications, such as water splitting and CO | 09-18-2014 |
| 20140272623 | SYSTEM FOR INCREASING EFFICIENCY OF SEMICONDUCTOR PHOTOCATALYSTS EMPLOYING A HIGH SURFACE AREA SUBSTRATE - A system for energy production may include a photoactive material with photocatalytic capped colloidal nanocrystals (PCCN) and plasmonic nanoparticles over a high surface area gridded substrate for increasing light harvesting efficiency. The formation of PCCN may include a semiconductor nanocrystal synthesis and an exchange of organic capping agents with inorganic capping agents. Additionally, the PCCN may be deposited between the plasmonic nanoparticles, and may act as photocatalysts for redox reactions. The photoactive material may be used in a plurality of photocatalytic energy conversion applications such as water splitting or CO | 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 |
| 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 |
| 20140349281 | System and Method for Dispensing Barcoded Solutions - The present disclosure provides a system capable of dispensing DNA encoding solutions at controllable flow rates and in uniform patterns, allowing sufficient DNA to be deposited onto a substrate for subsequent detection and identification of the substrate. The disclosed dispensing system may also include a feedback mechanism capable of validating that sufficient DNA has been applied to a substrate so that a barcode may be generated, detected, and identified at a later time. | 11-27-2014 |
| 20140349303 | System and Method for Producing and Reading DNA Barcodes - The present disclosure relates to biological material identification systems and methods. DNA oligomers may be used to encode for specific characteristics of biological materials. Encoding may be done by depositing suitable amounts of DNA oligomers onto a portion of a biological material. To identify the biological materials, the encoded portions of the biological materials may be extracted and immersed in buffer solutions. Then, lateral flow tests may be used to decode the DNA for interpretation, creating a readable barcode that may be compared with a database to determine if the biological material may be approved. | 11-27-2014 |
| 20140349861 | Method for Distinguishing Biological Material Products - A method for encoding and identifying biological materials is disclosed. The method may include encoding and identifying plants from which controlled substances may be derived and other materials for which movement and distribution may need to be tracked. The biological material may be first encoded using DNA oligomers. A spray method or the use of an encoded substrate, both using these DNA oligomers for encoding the biological material, may be employed. The biological material, or a part of the biological material, may be first encoded by atomizing a solution containing DNA oligomers onto it and then dried by an appropriate method. Thereafter, the part of the encoded biological material, or the nitrocellulose substrate, may be dissolved with a buffer solution for extracting the DNA oligomers. Then, the dissolved solution may be used for generating a barcode by a suitable detection scheme. | 11-27-2014 |
