NANOSTRUCTURED APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR PRODUCING CARBON-CONTAINING MOLECULES AS A RENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCE

• US 20120097521A1
• Filed: 10/25/2011
• Published: 04/26/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Lowell University Massachusetts
• Original Assignee: University Of Massachusetts
• Inventors: Shen, Mengyan, Wang, Cong
• Application Number:
  US13/280,401
• Publication Number:
  US 20120097521A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 204/157.47
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 19/127 Sunlight; Visible light
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 23/75 Cobalt
• CPC Class Codes: B01J 35/23 in a colloidal state
• CPC Class Codes: B82Y 40/00 Manufacture or treatment of nanostructures
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 13/0207 Water
• CPC Class Codes: C01B 3/042 Decomposition of water
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 60/36 Hydrogen production from non-carbon containing sources, e.g. by water electrolysis
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 20/133 Renewable energy sources, e.g. sunlight

Abstract

Nanostructured arrays having a metal catalyst (e.g., cobalt) are irradiated with light to initiate the an artificial photosynthetic reaction resulting in the formation of carbon-containing molecules, for example, long chained hydrocarbons or amino acids. A nanostructure having one or more structural elements having a high aspect ratio can formed over a substrate and are placed in contact with water and a carbon-containing source (e.g., carbon dioxide, bicarbonate, methane). When the nanostructure is exposed to light, the water and the carbon-containing source can react to form a molecule having at least two carbon atoms chained together. Structural elements may include a number of metal layers arranged in a patterned configuration so that, upon light irradiation, a greater amount of light energy is concentrated in close proximity to the region where the reaction is catalyzed than for the case without the patterned configuration.

Claims

1. An apparatus for producing carbon-containing molecules, the apparatus comprising:

a nanostructure adapted to catalyze a light-initiated reaction with at least one carbon-containing source that results in a molecule having at least two carbon atoms chained together.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the nanostructure comprises a plurality of structural elements having an average height of between about 1 micron and about 3 microns and a thickness of less than about 500 nm.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the nanostructure includes a metal comprising at least one of Au, Al, Ag, Cu, Co, Fe, Ni, Ti, stainless steel, or a combination thereof, and an oxide layer disposed over the metal.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a chamber containing the carbon-containing source, wherein the carbon-containing source is in contact with the nanostructure.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the chamber comprises a lens constructed and arranged to focus light toward the nanostructure.

6. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the chamber is constructed and arranged for the hydrogen-containing source to condense on walls of the chamber and to flow back toward the nanostructure.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the nanostructure comprises a plurality of metal layers arranged in a patterned configuration.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein each of the plurality of metal layers comprises a thickness of less than about 50 nm and a width of between about 10 nm and about 100 nm.

9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the plurality of metal layers arranged in a patterned configuration comprise a periodic arrangement alternating between at least one radiation-focusing metal layer having a corresponding resonant wavelength and at least one catalyzing metal layer.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the at least one radiation-focusing metal layer includes at least one of Au, Al, Ag, Cu, or a combination thereof, and the at least one catalyzing metal layer includes at least one of Co, Cu, Fe, Ti, Ag, or a combination thereof.

21. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the nanostructure is adapted to catalyze a light-initiated reaction between a hydrogen-containing source and the at least one carbon-containing source that results in the molecule having at least two carbon atoms chained together.

22. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one carbon-containing source comprises a hydrogen-containing source.

23. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the at least one hydrogen-containing source comprises water.

24. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one carbon-containing source comprises a gas.

25. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the chamber contains a hydrogen-containing source in contact with the nanostructure.

31. The method of claim 4, wherein the chamber comprises a lens constructed and arranged to alter light incident on the chamber and traveling toward the nanostructure.

11. A method of forming a carbon-containing molecule, the method comprising:

contacting a nanostructure with a hydrogen-containing source and a carbon-containing source; and

exposing the nanostructure to light to initiate a reaction between the water hydrogen-containing source and the carbon-containing source to form a molecule having at least two carbon atoms chained together.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the hydrogen-containing source and the carbon-containing source are disposed within a chamber, the hydrogen-containing source having a depth of less than about 2 mm within the chamber and the carbon-containing source being a gas having a pressure of between about 1 atm and about 5 atm within the chamber.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein exposing the nanostructure to light includes irradiating the nanostructure with natural light.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein exposing the nanostructure to light to form a molecule having at least two carbon atoms chained together comprises producing a molecule having an energy that is at least 10% that of an initial energy of the light exposure.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein exposing the nanostructure to light to form a molecule having at least two carbon atoms chained together comprises forming a hydrocarbon, an amino acid, a polymer, a nitrogen-containing substance, an alcohol or a combination thereof.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein exposing the nanostructure to light to initiate a reaction between the hydrogen-containing source and the carbon-containing source includes catalyzing the reaction between the hydrogen-containing source and the carbon-containing source involving at least one metal comprising Co, Cu, Fe, Ti, Ag, or a combination thereof.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the carbon-containing source comprises at least one of carbon dioxide, bicarbonate, carbon monoxide, a hydrocarbon, or a combination thereof.

26. The method of claim 11, wherein the carbon-containing source comprises the hydrogen-containing source.

27. The method of claim 11, wherein the hydrogen-containing source comprises water.

28. The method of claim 11, wherein the carbon-containing source comprises a gas.

29. The method of claim 11, wherein exposing the nanostructure to light comprises irradiating the nanostructure with artificially generated light.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the artificially generated light is generated using a laser.

18. A method of manufacturing an apparatus for producing a carbon-containing molecule, the method comprising:

forming a nanostructure on a substrate, the nanostructure adapted to catalyze a light-initiated reaction between a hydrogen-containing source and a carbon-containing source that results in a molecule having at least two carbon atoms chained together.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein forming the nanostructure comprises forming a plurality of metal layers arranged in a patterned configuration, the plurality of metal layers comprising a first metal layer and a second metal layer, the first metal layer including at least one of Au, Al, Ag, Cu, or a combination thereof, and the second metal layer including at least one of Co, Cu, Fe, Ti, Ag, or a combination thereof.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein forming the nanostructure comprises a lithographic process including:

forming a first plurality of structural elements each having a high aspect ratio;

providing an overmold for the first plurality of structural elements;

removing the first plurality of structural elements from the overmold to provide the overmold with a plurality of recessed structures;

filling the plurality of recessed structures with at least one metal comprising Au, Al, Ag, Cu, Co, Fe, Ni, Ti, stainless steel, or a combination thereof to form a second plurality of structural elements; and

attaching the substrate to the second plurality of structural elements.