UNIVERSITY of CALIFORNIA, SANTA BARBARA

Brief Description

Description

Researchers at UCSB have developed a platform technology consisting of functionalized membranes and films for robust ion conductivity at elevated temperatures and low humidities for use in a variety of applications in electrochemical devices, including:  

Fuel Cells:   Among current technological challenges to the use of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC) in energy application are their limited operating temperatures. The high ion conduction properties achievable using conventional polymeric PEMFC membranes depend on adequate hydration, which is difficult to maintain at temperatures above 80º C. However, below 100º C, carbon monoxide poisoning of the anode platinum catalyst and diminished oxygen reduction kinetics at the cathode separately limit the performance of PEMFC assemblies.   Fuel cells that operate at higher temperatures and with low humidity would increase the efficacy and flexibility of fuel cells as a power source. Researchers at UCSB have developed novel thermally and chemically stable proton-conductive membranes from porous inorganic films that possess stable water retention and ion conductivity at elevated temperatures (100º - 200º C). Research data indicates that the hydration capacity and water retention of these novel membranes exceed those of commercially available Nafion® 117 membranes.

Super-capacitors: Typical capacitors have parallel plates. The power available depends on the area of the capacitor and the charge on it. Efforts to increase area capacitor performance have used porous carbon powders that must be glued together to form films that have undesirably low conductivity in the range of .003 S/com. Researchers at UCSB have increased the area of the plates without sacrificing conductivity through the use of novel carbon membranes, producing conductivity greater than >10 S/cm, resulting in higher energy densities.  Researchers have also produced materials with continuous, aligned carbon pores to allow a direct path from the anode to the cathode.

Applications

• Fuel Cell
• Super-capacitors
• Batteries
• Photovoltaics
• Water Purification

Patent Information

UC Case No. 1999-072: “Hierarchically Ordered Porous Oxide” -   A low-cost, efficient method of preparing hierarchically ordered materials using low-cost, non-toxic, and biodegradable block copolymers. U.S. Patent Nos. 6,541,539; 6,716,378; 7,014,799

UC Case No. 2001-009: “Inorganic/Block Copolymer-Dye Composites And Dye-Doped Mesoporous Materials for Optical and Sensing Applications” -  Mesostructured inorganic-organic composite and porous inorganic materials with exceptional properties, including unique adjustability of material composition, structure, macroscopic morphologies, and orientational ordering. U.S. Patent No. 6,952,436  

UC Case No. 2004-049: “Method and Fabrication of In Situ Fabricated Fuel Cells” -  Novel process to form fuel cells in which the electrocatalysts are placed in the conducting channels. This method ensures that all catalyst particles in the cell are in contact with the conducting areas of the membrane, reducing the cost and increasing the efficiency of the devices.   U.S. Patent Application No. 12/074,084  

UC Case No. 2006-256: “Functionalized Inorganic Films for Ion Conduction”  -  Hydrophilic membranes based on functionalized porous inorganic materials for high temperature ion conduction.    U.S. Patent Application No. 11/566,104  

UC Case No. 2006-477: “Orientationally Ordered Mesostructured Inorganic Materials for Optical, Membrane, and Microfluidic Device”  -  Patterned inorganic mesostructured films prepared with controllable orientational ordering.    U.S. Patent Application: 11/735,252  

UC Case No. 2008-414: “Mesostructured Materials With Controlled Orientational Ordering for Membranes and Optical Devices”  -  Highly macroscopic aligned mesostructured materials with controlled nucleation rate and growth of silica domains    U.S. patent application 12/335,225  

UC Case No. 2008-463: “Carbon Materials With Interconnected Pores”  -   Electrically conducting, high surface-area mesoporous carbon films with cubic mesostructural ordering that can serve as electrodes and catalyst supports in fuel cell, lithium ion battery, and ultra-capacitor applications   U.S. Patent Application 12/367,471  

UC Case No. 2008-465: “Optimized Multiply-Functionalized Mesostructured Materials”    - Functionalized mesoporous films with high proton conductivities that can operate at high temperature and low humidities without the risk of membrane dehydration     Patent Pending    

This portfolio is available for licensing. 

PATENT STATUS

• U.S. Patent 7,014,799 issued on 21 Mar, 2006
• U.S. Patent 6,716,378 issued on 06 Apr, 2004
• U.S. Patent 6,541,539 issued on 01 Apr, 2003

INVENTORS

• Chmelka, Bradley F.
• Deng, Tao
• Feng, Pingyun
• Pine, David J.
• Stucky, Galen D.
• Whitesides, George M.
• Yang, Peidong
• Zhao, Dongyuan

Other Information

Contact

Franco Caporale/ caporale@tia.ucsb.edu / tel: 805-893-2073. Please reference Tech ID #19996.

ADDITIONAL TECHNOLOGIES BY THESE INVENTORS

• Macroporous Oxide Materials With Controlled Porosity And Pore Size
• Modular Adhesives And Energy-Dissipating Materials
• Synthesis Of Silica And Silicone Polymer Networks Under Benign Conditions
• Inorganic/Block Coploymer-Dye Composites And Dye-Doped Mesoporous Materials For Optical And Sensing Applications
• Tough, Self-Healing Silicone Materials
• Nanoparticle Assembled Hollow Spheres
• Oxide-Supported Metal Nanoparticle Catalyst
• Thermally Stable Proton-Conductive Membranes for Fuel Cell Applications
• Hemostatic and Wound Healing Compositions