William Marsh Rice University

University of Florida Research Foundation, Incorporated

Andrew Gabriel Rinzler

Richard E Smalley

Daniel T Colbert

Andreas Thess

Ting Guo

Jason H Hafner

Pavel Nikolaev

Hongjie Dai

Jie Liu

Kenneth A Smith

Ken A Smith

John Robert Reynolds

Bo Liu

Rajib Kumar Das

Mitchell Austin McCarthy

Ryan Michael Walczak

Svetlana V Vasilyeva

Pooja Wadhwa

Yan E Wang

Zhihong Chen

Zhuangchun Wu

Hai-Ping Cheng

Andrew M Spring

Franky So

Keelnatham T Shanmugam

Stephen John Pearton

Lonnie O'Neal Ingram

Jonathan C Moore

Jing Guo

Gyungseon Seol

Honglie Dai

Maxime G Lemaitre

Xiao Chen

Max G Lemaitre

Mitchell Austin Mccarthy

Disclosed herein are various layered, carbon-containing materials for use in reducing carbon dioxide. In certain embodiments, the materials comprise single wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs).

Carbon dioxide reduction over carbon-containing materials

Various aspects of tunable barrier transistors that can be used in high power electronics are provided. In one example, among others, a tunable barrier transistor includes an inorganic semiconducting layer; a source electrode including a nano-carbon film disposed on the inorganic semiconducting layer; a gate dielectric layer disposed on the nano-carbon film; and a gate electrode disposed on the gate dielectric layer over at least a portion of the nano-carbon film. The nano-carbon film can form a source-channel interface with the inorganic semiconducting layer. A gate field produced by the gate electrode can modulate a barrier height at the source-channel interface. The gate field may also modulate a barrier width at the source-channel interface.

Tunable barrier transistors for high power electronics

An electrode comprises an acid treated, cathodically cycled carbon-comprising film or body. The carbon consists of single walled nanotubes (SWNTs), pyrolytic graphite, microcrystalline graphitic, any carbon that consists of more than 99% sphybridized carbons, or any combination thereof. The electrode can be used in an electrochemical device functioning as an electrolyzer for evolution of hydrogen or as a fuel cell for oxidation of hydrogen. The electrochemical device can be coupled as a secondary energy generator into a system with a primary energy generator that naturally undergoes generation fluctuations. During periods of high energy output, the primary source can power the electrochemical device to store energy as hydrogen, which can be consumed to generate electricity as the secondary source during low energy output by the primary source. Solar cells, wind turbines and water turbines can act as the primary energy source.

Hydrogen oxidation and generation over carbon films

An embodiment of the invention is an air cathode having a porous membrane with at least one hydrophobic surface that contacts a conductive catalytic film that comprises single walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) where the nanotubes are in intimate electrical contact. The conductive film can include fullerenes, metals, metal alloys, metal oxides, or electroactive polymers in addition to the SWNTs. In other embodiments of the invention the air cathode is a component of a metal-air battery or a fuel cell.

Single wall carbon nanotube based air cathodes

Various examples are provided for brightness compensation in a display. In one example, a method includes identifying an IR voltage drop effect on a pixel supplied by a supply voltage line and generating a brightness signal for the pixel based at least in part on the IR voltage drop effect. In another example, a method includes calculating values of IR voltage drop corresponding to pixels fed by a common supply voltage line and providing a data line signal to each pixel that compensates for the IR voltage drop. In another example, a display device includes a matrix of pixels and a brightness controller configured to determine an IR voltage drop effect on a pixel of the matrix and generate a brightness signal for the pixel based at least in part on the IR voltage drop effect and a temporal average pixel brightness within one refreshing cycle associated with the pixel.

Brightness compensation in a display

A degradable polymeric nanotube (NT) dispersant comprises a multiplicity of NT associative groups that are connected to a polymer backbone by a linking group where there are cleavable groups within the polymer backbone and/or the linking groups such that on a directed change of conditions, bond breaking of the cleavable groups results in residues from the degradable polymeric NT dispersant in a manner where the associative groups are uncoupled from other associative groups, rendering the associative groups monomelic in nature. The degradable polymeric nanotube (NT) dispersant can be combined with carbon NTs to form a NT dispersion that can be deposited to form a NT film, or other structure, by air brushing, electrostatic spraying, ultrasonic spraying, ink-jet printing, roll-to-roll coating, or dip coating. The deposition can render a NT film that is of a uniform thickness or is patterned with various thicknesses. Upon deposition of the film, the degradable polymeric nanotube (NT) dispersant can be cleaved and the cleavage residues removed from the film to yield a film where contact between NTs is unencumbered by dispersants, resulting in highly conductive NT films.

Nanotube dispersants and dispersant free nanotube films therefrom

An electrode comprises an acid treated, cathodically cycled carbon-comprising film or body. The carbon consists of single walled nanotubes (SWNTs), pyrolytic graphite, microcrystalline graphitic, any carbon that consists of more than 99% sphybridized carbons, or any combination thereof. The electrode can be used in an electrochemical device functioning as an electrolyser for evolution of hydrogen or as a fuel cell for oxidation of hydrogen. The electrochemical device can be coupled as a secondary energy generator into a system with a primary energy generator that naturally undergoes generation fluctuations. During periods of high energy output, the primary source can power the electrochemical device to store energy as hydrogen, which can be consumed to generate electricity as the secondary source during low energy output by the primary source. Solar cells, wind turbines and water turbines can act as the primary energy source.

Various examples are provided for ambipolar vertical field effect transistors (VFETs). In one example, among others, an ambipolar VFET includes a gate layer; a source layer that is electrically percolating and perforated; a dielectric layer; a drain layer; and a semiconducting channel layer. The semiconducting channel layer is in contact with at least a portion of the source layer and at least a portion of the dielectric layer and the source layer and the semiconducting channel layer form a gate voltage tunable charge injection barrier. Another example includes an ambipolar vertical field effect transistor including a dielectric surface treatment layer. The semiconducting channel layer is in contact with at least a portion of the source layer and at least a portion of the dielectric surface treatment layer and where the source layer and the semiconducting channel layer form a gate voltage tunable charge injection barrier.

Ambipolar vertical field effect transistor

An highly porous electrically conducting film that includes a plurality of carbon nanotubes, nanowires or a combination of both. The highly porous electrically conducting film exhibits an electrical resistivity of less than 0.1 &#x3a9;&#xb7;cm at 25 C and a density of between 0.05 and 0.70 g/cm. The film can exhibit a density between 0.50 and 0.85 g/cmand an electrical resistivity of less than 6&#xd7;10&#x3a9;&#xb7;cm at 25 C. Also included is a method of forming these highly porous electrically conducting films by forming a composite film using carbon nanotubes or nanowires and sacrificial nanoparticles or microparticles. At least a portion of the nanoparticles or microparticles are then removed from the composite film to form the highly porous electrically conducting film.

Highly accessible, nanotube electrodes for large surface area contact applications

Various systems and methods are provided for Schottky junction solar cells. In one embodiment, a solar cell includes a mesh layer formed on a semiconductor layer and an ionic layer formed on the mesh layer. The ionic layer seeps through the mesh layer and directly contacts the semiconductor layer. In another embodiment, a solar cell includes a first mesh layer formed on a semiconductor layer, a first metallization layer coupled to the first mesh layer, a second high surface area electrically conducting electrode coupled to the first metallization layer by a gate voltage, and an ionic layer in electrical communication with the first mesh layer and the second high surface area electrically conducting electrode. In another embodiment, a solar cell includes a grid layer formed on a semiconductor layer and an ionic layer in electrical communication with the grid layer and the semiconductor layer.

Electronic gate enhancement of Schottky junction solar cells

Various embodiments are provided for dilute source enabled vertical organic light emitting transistors. In various embodiments, a display panel includes an array of pixels. In one embodiment, among others, at least one pixel includes a switching transistor and a driving transistor coupled to the switching transistor, where the driving transistor is configured to emit light responsive to activation by the switching transistor. The driving transistor may be a dilute source enabled vertical organic light emitting transistor (DS-VOLET). The switching transistor may include a dilute source enabled vertical-field effect transistor (DS-VFET). In another embodiment, a double dilute source enabled vertical-field effect transistor (DS-VFET) includes a first DS-VFET coupled to a second DS-VFET.

Active matrix dilute source enabled vertical organic light emitting transistor

A composition of matter comprises a polymer with a fully conjugated backbone or a conjugated block with a plurality of binding groups connected to the backbone by a linking moiety. The binding groups permit a non-covalent binding to a graphitic surface such as a carbon nanotube. A composition of matter where an electroactive polymer with binding groups connected to a conjugated backbone through a linking moiety is bound to carbon nanotubes. Such compositions can be used for a variety of applications using electroactive materials.

Electroactive polymers containing pendant pi-interacting/binding substituents, their carbon nanotube composites, and processes to form the same

Growing community of inventors

Newberry, FL, United States of America

Andrew Gabriel Rinzler