Patents
US 11932558 B1: Piezocatalysis using piezoelectric polymers
- Granted
- 2024-03-19
- Filed
- 2021-03-02 application 17190248
- Type
- Utility · 21 claims
- Elsewhere
- Google Patents ↗ · USPTO patent document ↗ · USPTO Patent Center record ↗
Abstract
A piezoelectric polymer used as a piezocatalyst, and methods of manufacture and use therefor. A preferred piezoelectric polymer is poly(vinylidene difluoride) (PVDF) due to its piezoelectric response and good flexibility. The polymer can be doped with a metal, metal salt, metal carbonyl, metal oxide such as ZnO, Co2O3, or TiO2, or ion such as Cr3+, Co2+, or Zn2+. The dopant can be chosen so that when the polymer is PVDF the dopant increases the amount of β-phase PVDF and/or γ-phase PVDF relative to α-phase PVDF, thereby increasing the piezocatalytic response of the polymer. The compound to be decomposed can be adsorbed on the surface of the piezoelectric polymer. Applications include wastewater treatment, CO2 capture and reduction, hydroformylation, water splitting, and ammonia synthesis.
Source: PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 (ipg240319.xml).
Assignees
| Assignee | Type | Place | Also on furp.org | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Rhode Island Board of Trustees 40 patents | US company or organization | Kingston, RI | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
Inventors
| Inventor | Place | Patents | Person page | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| William B. Euler | Narragansett, RI | 3 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 | |
| Angela Thach | Lawrence, MA | 1 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 | |
| Lasanthi Sumathirathne | Anuradhapura, LK | 1 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 | |
| Benjamin B. Cromwell | Stoughton, MA | 1 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 | |
| Mara Dubnicka | Plantsville, CT | 1 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
CPC categories
| Subclass | Category | First group | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| C02F | Treatment of water, waste water, sewage, or sludge | C02F1/46109 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
| C01B | Non-metallic elements; compounds thereof; ; metalloids or compounds thereof not covered by subclass c01c | C01B3/042 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
| C01C | Ammonia; cyanogen; compounds thereof | C01C1/0411 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
| C25B | Electrolytic or electrophoretic processes for the production of compounds or non-metals; apparatus therefor | C25B1/04 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
| H10N | Electric solid-state devices not otherwise provided for | H10N30/857 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
Cooperative Patent Classification, as currently assigned (one row per subclass).
Assignments and security interests
| Recorded | What | From | To | Reel/frame | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-08-11 | Assignment Assignment of assignor's interest | CROMWELL, BENJAMIN B. signed 2021-06-14 | UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND BOARD OF TRUSTEES KINGSTON, RI | 57146/613 | ECORSEXC, file of 2026-09-25 |
| 2021-06-10 | Assignment Assignment of assignor's interest | DUBNICKA, MARA signed 2021-03-11 SUMATHIRATHNE, LASANTHI signed 2021-03-11 THACH, ANGELA signed 2021-03-11 EULER, WILLIAM B. signed 2021-03-12 | UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND BOARD OF TRUSTEES KINGSTON, RI | 56505/18 | ECORSEXC, file of 2026-09-25 |
Documents recorded with the USPTO Assignment Recordation Branch that list this patent. A security interest is a lender’s claim on the patent as collateral; a release ends it.
USPTO bulk data: PatentsView granted patents, disambiguated (PVGPATDIS) for patents, assignees, inventors, places and CPC categories; the USPTO Patent Assignment Dataset (ECORSEXC) for assignments and security interests. Patents filed in the last 20 years. No claims or full text. Links to other records are by name (and state): EXACT means the identical full name and state; FUZZY means a looser name match, with the confidence shown.