Materials

Nanostructured coatings based on silica precursor were developed. The sol-gel synthesis conditions were varied in order to tune the surface roughness of the coatings. The coatings consist of multi-scale nanostructured features that are fused together into a continuous film.

The invented material is highly useful for thermal insulation applications for refrigerators, buildings, high temperature fuel cells, automobiles, and any other application that needs high thermal insulation.

Disclosed is a device and method for cooling articles such as vaccines without the need for electricity.

The proposed a new class of concentrated solar energy driven desalination distillation membranes based on superhydrophobic (SH) micro-porous carbon foams use direct concentrated solar radiation to generate heat, providing a driving force without energy conversion (e.g.

This invention discloses a novel concept of tailoring nanostructures and compositions of graphene-polymer hybrid membranes and methods to prepare such class of membranes for high-performance dewatering, desalination, or water/ion separation applications.

This invention discloses a novel sorbent selective separation technology that can selectively remove or reduce target carbonyl molecules and/or carboxylic acids for bio-oil stabilization (long-term storage) and down-stream catalyst preservation.

The invention disclosure includes a material that can provide very high thermal insulation with better mechanical and thermal insulation properties compared to the existing thermal insulation materials while being fire retardant and in several cases a low cost alternatives.

The current state of the art for recovery of Li from geothermal brines is a lithium/aluminum layered double hydroxide (LDH) based sorption system. The process has been shown to be effective in recovering >90% of the Li from geothermal brine.

For the first time, carbon fiber (CF) made by the conversion of a biosynthetic polymer have been successfully prepared. The biomimetic material used as a precursor is a protein polymer chain.

The invention is the successful development and application of novel collectors for Rare Earth mineral flotation. This was done in direct conjunction between ORNL and CSM.