Recent Patents on Materials Science - Volume 5, Issue 3, 2012

In this review, we have investigated research results of recent patents of various kinds of Pt or Pd based nanoparticles for catalysis. It includes aspects of practical applications of metal, bimetal or multi-metal based nanoparticles in catalysis and fuel cells. The synthetic methods and catalysts engineering are comprehensively presented in their excellent applications for fuel cells. The aims of this review are to provide achievements and highlights of patents of recent applications of Pt or Pd based material catalysts for various fuel cells. In particular, the Pt or Pd based nanoparticles of certain size, shape, structure, composition show great and promising applications in fuel cells and energy issues. The new and modified catalysts associated with the Pt or Pd based nanoparticles can improve future fuel cells with very high and robust performance. Our ideas and proposals of using a very low weight of Pt metal in novel robust and efficiently designed catalysts are one of the best ways for the large-scale commercialization of fuel cells technology. In addition, the characterization and controlled synthesis of metal, bimetal, multi-metal, and multi-component nanoparticles are discussed in potential applications for fuel cells. Finally, we think that greatly novel discoveries in science and technology through succesful synthesis of novel alloy or core-shell nanoparticles and their excellent applications in catalysis, medicine and biology can be clearly predicted.

The Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) process has dramatically changed the way scientists and engineers sinter materials. Using the SPS near theoretical packing densities can be attained for a wide variety of materials at a lower sintering temperature in a shorter period of time than other sintering processes due to the highly localized Joule heating, electric current/field enhanced mass transport, spark plasma/discharge, and applied pressure. Importantly, the SPS process allows for a greater control of micro-morphology. To date, the SPS process has been widely employed for various applications such as the processing and synthesis of functional materials. In particular, the field of thermoelectricity has found a large interest in the SPS process, where considerably higher thermoelectric performance has been achieved due to the use of SPS in materials processing. In addition, metallurgists and material scientists have found that the SPS process helps fabricate more robust rare earth magnets and fuel cell constituents. This short review will mainly focus on the recent patents of SPS process, especially those in the category of nanomaterials/composites for mechanical use, thermoelectric materials, electromagnetic functional materials, and fuel cell components.

Metal oxides (MOs) have attracted extensive attention because they possess various applications such as lithium- ion batteries (LIBs), dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), fuel cells, catalysis, gas sensors, water splitting and supercapacitors due to low cost and high compatibility with the environment. This paper is a review on recent patents and scientific research literatures related to the synthesis, and energy storage and conversion of MOs in LIBs, DSSCs and supercapacitors. These MOs are mainly transition MOs such as Co3O4, CoO, Fe2O3, Fe3O4, Mn3O4 and MnO2. Some patents and scientific research literatures are also involved in MOs such as Cu2O, TiO2, NiO, SiO2, SnO, ZnO, SnO2, Zn2SnO4-SnO2 and ruthenium oxide. In addition, some problems existing with energy storage and conversion, and future research directions are also addressed.

Metallic Glasses (MGs), also called glassy metals (amorphous metals, liquid metals) are considered to be the materials of the future. Metallic glasses, formed at very low critical cooling rates, are different from traditional amorphous alloys (which are usually formed at high cooling rates) in order to avoid crystallization. The most important feature of MGs, which distinguishes them from ordinary amorphous materials, is the glass transition that transforms super cooled liquids into a glassy state when cooled from high to low temperature. Some scientists have been investigating the mechanisms and dynamics of metallic glass formation, their atomic structure, micromechanisms of mechanical properties, etc. They have also been exploring the atomic-scale mechanisms of MG formation and the development of new bulk glassy alloys and composites with improved glass-forming ability. Other scientists focus on manufacturing and industrialization of MGs. At the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), there are currently more than 30 groups working on the science, preparation and applications of MGs. The Amorphous Materials and Physics Group at CAS has developed a series of rare earth-based RE-MGs with functional physical properties. In the US, there are science groups that have made successful progress in the area of metallic glasses. More specifically, the US-based team from Yale and the science group from Caltech are more focused on practical aspects relating to MGs (production, industrialization, biomedical materials and aerospace materials). This patent review article briefly investigates the industrialization and some environmental aspects of MGs, as follows: biocompatibility of most MGs, obtaining valuable MGs from low-purity industrial raw materials, use of MGs in green energy applications (solar cells, hydrogen production), use of MGs in catalyst systems and possibilities for using metallic glasses in systems for retention and purification of dangerous pollutants.

Excessive mucus and subsequent airway plugging lead to airway mucus hyper-secretion, airway obstruction, airflow limitation, ventilation-perfusion mismatch and impairment of gas exchange. Additionally, excess mucus prevents proper deposition of inhaled medications on the airway epithelium thereby reducing the response of airway epithelial cells to medication, and impairment of mucociliary function, encouraging bacterial colonization leading to repeated chest infections and exacerbations. Several pharmacological agents currently in use for airway diseases have unfortunate side effects and suboptimal pharmacokinetic properties with a narrow margin of safety. Airway inflammation and subsequent accumulation of inflammatory products in expectorated secretions including polymeric DNA, actin, bacteria and bacterial breakdown products mainly make the sputum purulent during airway diseases. The recent inventions to control inflammation and accumulation of inflammatory products in airways of patients suffering from mucus hyper-secretion do not take into consideration that defense and clearance of airways of patients with airway diseases are to a large extent dependent on cough due to the damage to the ciliary mechanism and thickened mucus. Treatment of patents for excess mucus during airway diseases should target first cough clearance leading progressively to mucociliary clearance. There is also evidence from recent inventions that prevention or treatment of inflammation related disorders such as atopic allergy, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases can aggravate conditions related to cystic fibrosis through the down regulation of calcium induced chloride channels. Treatment of airway mucus hyper-secretion and retention by simultaneously controlling more than one mechanism involved may be a more effective therapeutic strategy.

Polymers are normally used as insulators in many industrial applications due to their high resistivity but there are important developments where polymers can be used as conductors. Electrically conductive polymers find applications in electromagnetic shielding, antistatic coatings, organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), electrochemical sensors, rechargeable batteries and solar cells. However, the mechanical properties of these materials are not very favourable in comparison with their insulating counterparts and research to enhance their mechanical properties and ease of processability is very active. Many polymers can be produced with using similar chemical or electrochemical methods. Chemical oxidation of polymers is strongly focused in this paper. There are also other patents related to producing conducting polymer composition comprising a conducting polymer and some other polymer types. This paper will focus on only producing of conducting polymers and mostly on conducting polyaniline. After the patent research, there will be some experimental works which have been already reported previously by other researchers on this subject for making of high electrically conducting polymers, preferably conducting polyaniline.

The patents annotated in this section have been selected from various patent databases. These recent patents are relevant to the articles published in this journal issue, categorized by materials, biomaterials, biological materials, magnetic materials, medical implant materials, nanomaterials, ceramics, plastics, polymers, semi-conductors, coatings, composites, paper, wood, textile, methods, design and techniques....