Midwest Research Institute

The United States of America As Represented by the United States

Element One, Inc.

Other

The United States of America As Represented by the Department of Energy

Benteler Automotive Corporation

David K Benson

C Edwin Tracy

Thomas F Potter

Steven D Burch

Ji-Guang Zhang

William V Hoagland

Richard W Burrows

Donald R Rigsby

Frederick B Hill, Jr

Michael Seibert

Matthew Allen Keyser

John Peter Biel, Jr

Lance Mews

Rodney D Smith

John C Pernicka

Marta R Ruth

Timothy Michael Flynn

Ping Liu

Howard M Branz

John Augustus Turner

Richard S Crandall

David L Olson

Yvonne D Shinton

Jack L Stone

Byron L Stafford

Arthur J Nelson

Thomas R Wildeman

R Davis Smith

Satyendra K Deb

Matthew A Keyser

Clemens S Bechinger

Peter F Barret

Pigments comprising chemochromic metal oxide microparticles or nanoparticles the surfaces of which are superficially coated with nanoparticles of catalyst material. The pigments are prepared by mechanical or wet chemical processes.

Method of making a hydrogen sensing pigment

A remotely readable hydrogen detector is in the form of a tag or card that can be worn on clothing or mounted on a variety of surfaces and can be monitored from a distance for the presence of hydrogen gas. It includes a hydrogen sensor device, which changes in electrical resistivity in response to being exposed to hydrogen gas, that is incorporated into an electric detector circuit, which detects changes in resistivity of the sensor device, and, when such change in resistivity indicates the presence of some predetermined concentration of hydrogen gas, the electric circuit outputs a signal or state that indicates the presence of hydrogen to a transceiver circuit, which can transmit that information to a remote receiver or interrogator/reader via an antenna in the sensor device.

Monitorable hydrogen sensor system

Disclosed is a pigment that changes color upon exposure to hydrogen sulfide gas. The pigment may be ground or otherwise reduced to small particles and used in coatings, dyes, paints or inks. Potential applications for paints and inks include the production of warning indicators for the presence of hydrogen gas in areas where such presence may pose a hazard. Warning decals may be printed with pigmented ink and posted in areas of potential hydrogen hazard. In the presence of hydrogen sulfide gas, the decals can display a warning by causing a change in the color of a printed message. Objects may also be coated with pigmented paints so that if a hydrogen sulfide leak occurs from within or nearby the object, the color of the object changes to provide a warning of the presence of leaked hydrogen sulfide. Example applications of such painted objects include any industrial process containing hydrogen sulfide.

Hydrogen sulfide indicating pigments

A thermally-activated exhaust treatment device, such as a catalytic converter, for vehicles includes a core having an inner housing and a catalytic material. A jacket includes an outer housing enclosing the inner housing, but characteristically not contacting the inner housing. The inner and outer housings include walls forming a vacuum-drawn sealed insulation cavity around the inner housing. A temperature-activated variable insulator device is positioned within the outer housing and includes a hydrogen source and controls for controlling the variable insulator device. A vacuum-maintenance device is incorporated into the insulation cavity, and includes a small container, getter material positioned in the container, and a porous member allowing gas in the insulation cavity to communicate with the getter material. A multi-layered radiation shield is positioned in the vacuum space and is loosely coupled to the inner housing. A vacuum detector includes a visible indicator of the vacuum in the insulation cavity.

Vacuum-insulated exhaust treatment devices, such as catalytic converters, with passive controls

A measuring apparatus and method for use in measuring diffusible hydrogen concentrations in materials, structures, and other objects. In an embodiment of the invention for use in welding applications, the measuring apparatus () includes a sensor assembly () that, with an included sealing member (), defines a sample area () on a weld bead () from which hydrogen evolves into a sample volume () defined by the sealing member (), a sensor housing () and a sensor () of the sensor assembly (). The hydrogen reacts with a sensing layer () and a reflector layer () positioned on the end of an optical fiber (), all of which are included in the sensor assembly () and are sealably positioned within the sensor (). The sensing layer () comprises a chemochromic material that undergoes changes in physical properties, such as optical transmission properties, when it reacts with hydrogen and these changes are measured by the measuring apparatus () to determine the amount of hydrogen evolving from the sample area (). An optical fiber () is joined to the sensor optical fiber () to direct light () transmitted by a light source () in a hydrogen monitoring assembly () through the sensing layer () to strike the reflector layer () which reflects light () back through optical fiber () to a detector () in the hydrogen monitoring assembly (). A signal analyzer () is included in the hydrogen monitoring assembly () and is calibrated and configured to measure the diffusible hydrogen concentration in the weld bead () based on measured changes in the optical transmission properties of the sensing layer ().

Method and apparatus for determining diffusible hydrogen concentrations

A thermally-activated exhaust treatment device, such as a catalytic converter (); for vehicles includes a core having an inner housing () and a catalytic material ('). A jacket includes an outer housing () enclosing the inner housing () but characteristically not contacting the inner housing (). The inner and outer housings () includes walls () forming a vacuum-drawn scaled insulation cavity () around the inner housing (). A temperature-activated variable insulator device is positioned within the outer housing () and includes a hydrogen source () and controls for controlling the variable insulator device. A vacuum-maintenance device is incorporated into the insulation cavity (), and includes a small container, getter material positioned in the container, a porous member allowing gas in the insulation cavity () to communicate with the getter material. A multi-layered radiation shield is position in the vacuum space and is loosely coupled to the inner housing (). A vacuum detector includes a visible indicator of the vacuum in the insulation cavity ().

Provided is a system for identifying a hydrogen gas producing organism. The system includes a sensor film having a first layer comprising a transition metal oxide or oxysalt and a second layer comprising a hydrogen-dissociative catalyst metal, the first and second layers having an inner and an outer surface wherein the inner surface of the second layer is deposited on the outer surface of the first layer, and a substrate adjacent to the outer surface of the second layer, the organism isolated on the substrate.

System for rapid biohydrogen phenotypic screening of microorganisms using a chemochromic sensor

A display and projection apparatus includes an electrochromic material and a photoconductive material deposited in tandem used in conjunction with a light filtering means for filtering light transmitted through the electrochromic material. When an electric field is applied across the electrochromic material and the photoconductive material, light that is incident onto the photoconductive material through the surface of the projection apparatus causes the photoconductive material to conduct current locally in proportion to the amount of light incident on the photoconductive material. The flow of current causes the underlying portions of the electrochromic material to switch from an opaque state to a clear or transmissive state, thereby allowing back-light to propagate through the electrochromic material to create a visible image on the surface of the projection apparatus. Reversal of the electric field causes the electrochromic material to revert back to its opaque state, thereby blocking the transmission of back-light and effectively erasing the image from the surface of the projection apparatus.

Electrochromic projection and writing device

The invention provides an assay system for identifying a hydrogen-gas-producing organism, including a sensor film having a first layer comprising a transition metal oxide or oxysalt and a second layer comprising hydrogen-dissociative catalyst metal, the first and second layers having an inner and an outer surface wherein the inner surface of the second layer is deposited on the outer surface of the first layer, and a substrate disposed proximally to the outer surface of the second layer, the organism being isolated on the substrate.

Method and apparatus for rapid biohydrogen phenotypic screening of microorganisms using a chemochromic sensor

A catalytic converter has an inner canister that contains catalyst-coated substrates and an outer canister that encloses an annular, variable vacuum insulation chamber surrounding the inner canister. An annular tank containing phase-change material for heat storage and release is positioned in the variable vacuum insulation chamber a distance spaced part from the inner canister. A reversible hydrogen getter in the variable vacuum insulation chamber, preferably on a surface of the heat storage tank, releases hydrogen into the variable vacuum insulation chamber to conduct heat when the phase-change material is hot and absorbs the hydrogen to limit heat transfer to radiation when the phase-change material is cool. A porous zeolite trap in the inner canister absorbs and retains hydrocarbons from the exhaust gases when the catalyst-coated substrates and zeolite trap are cold and releases the hydrocarbons for reaction on the catalyst-coated substrate when the zeolite trap and catalyst-coated substrate get hot.

Vacuum-insulated catalytic converter

A method is disclosed of forming a vanadium oxide film on a substrate utilizing plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The method includes positioning a substrate within a plasma reaction chamber and then forming a precursor gas comprised of a vanadium-containing chloride gas in an inert carrier gas. This precursor gas is then mixed with selected amounts of hydrogen and oxygen and directed into the reaction chamber. The amounts of precursor gas, oxygen and hydrogen are selected to optimize the final properties of the vanadium oxide film An rf plasma is generated within the reaction chamber to chemically react the precursor gas with the hydrogen and the oxygen to cause deposition of a vanadium oxide film on the substrate while the chamber deposition pressure is maintained at about one torr or less. Finally, the byproduct gases are removed from the plasma reaction chamber.

Plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) method of forming

The present invention relates to the composition of a solid lithium-ion electrolyte based on the Li.sub.2 O--CeO.sub.2 --SiO.sub.2 system having good transparent characteristics and high ion conductivity suitable for uses in lithium batteries, electrochromic devices and other electrochemical applications.

Thin film method of conducting lithium-ions

A method for charging a sample of either a permanent or reversible getter material with a high concentration of hydrogen while maintaining a base pressure below 10.sup.-4 torr at room temperature involves placing the sample of hydrogen getter material in a chamber, activating the sample of hydrogen getter material, overcharging the sample of getter material through conventional charging techniques to a high concentration of hydrogen, and then subjecting the sample of getter material to a low temperature vacuum bake-out process. Application of the method results in a reversible hydrogen getter which is highly charged to maximum capacities of hydrogen and which concurrently exhibits minimum hydrogen vapor pressures at room temperatures.

Method for charging a hydrogen getter

Solid lithium-ion electrolyte

A fiber-optic device for sensing the presence of a gas in an environment is provided. The device comprises a light source for directing a light beam to a layer system having a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface. The first surface is exposable to the light beam and the second surface is exposable to the environment. A first light portion encounters and reflects from the first surface at an angle of incidence free from optical wave guide resonance phenomenon and the second light portion encounters and reflects from the first surface at an angle of incidence enabling an optical wave guide resonance phenomenon. The layer system is selected to reversibly react with the gas to be detected. The reaction between the gas and the material changes the material's optical properties and the wavelength at which the optical wave guide resonance occurs. Furthermore, a mechanism for measuring the intensity of the reflected first light portion relative to the reflected second light portion is provided with the ratio of the first and second light portions indicating the concentration of the gas presence in the environment.

Growing community of inventors

Golden, CO, United States of America

David K Benson