Patents Assigned to Board of Trustees of Northern Illinois University
  • Patent number: 11846033
    Abstract: An iron-containing Chevrel phase material, contains iron and Mo6S8 clusters, in particular an iron-containing Chevrel phase material having a formula FexMo6S8, wherein 2?x?4. The iron-containing Chevrel phase provides an efficient catalyst for the electrochemical production of ammonia from water and nitrogen gas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 18, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 19, 2023
    Assignee: Board of Trustees of Northern Illinois University
    Inventors: Yingwen Cheng, Ke Lu
  • Patent number: 11813105
    Abstract: A computer-implemented system and method for generating a medical image is provided. In some embodiments, the medical image is generated by determining a location and an alignment for a first tracking detector with respect to a particle beam system. The direction of a beam generated from the particle beam system is determined. A first position of a first particle from a detected particle hit on the first tracking detector is also determined. A determination is made as to a first residual range of the first particle from a detected particle hit on a residual range detector. The system reconstructs a path for the first particle based on the location, the alignment, the first position, and the first residual range of the first particle. The resulting medical image that is generated by the system is based on the reconstructed path for the first particle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 2021
    Date of Patent: November 14, 2023
    Assignees: BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY, PROTONVDA LLC
    Inventors: Don F. Dejongh, Ethan A. Dejongh, Kirk Duffin, Nicholas Karonis, Caesar Ordoñez, John Winans
  • Patent number: 11753422
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a composition that includes a material of at least one of a perovskite structure, a perovskite-like structure, and/or a perovskitoid structure, where the material includes an isotope of an element, the isotope has more neutrons than protons, and the isotope is incorporated into the perovskite structure, the perovskite-like structure, and/or the perovskitoid structure. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the isotope may make up between greater than 0% and 100% of the element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 19, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2023
    Assignees: Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC, Board of Trustees of Northern Illinois University
    Inventors: Kai Zhu, Jinhui Tong, Tao Xu, Xun Li
  • Patent number: 11682530
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a device that includes a first layer having an active material and a stabilizing material, where the active material includes a semiconductor, the stabilizing material includes at least one of an oligomer, an elastomer, a polymer, and/or a resin, and the stabilizing material provides to the device an improved performance metric compared to a device constructed of the first layer but constructed of only the active material (i.e., in the absence of the stabilizing material).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 3, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 20, 2023
    Assignees: Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC, Board of Trustees of Northern Illinois University
    Inventors: Kai Zhu, Fei Zhang, Tao Xu
  • Patent number: 11677072
    Abstract: An anode of a battery comprises lithium metal, and a dopant, in the lithium metal. The anode has a thickness of at most 50 ?m, and the dopant is a metal with an electronegativity greater than lithium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 23, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 13, 2023
    Assignee: Board of Trustees of Northern Illinois University
    Inventors: Yingwen Cheng, Tao Xu, Ke Lu, Haiping Xu
  • Publication number: 20220158180
    Abstract: An anode of a battery comprises lithium metal, and a dopant, in the lithium metal. The anode has a thickness of at most 50 ?m, and the dopant is a metal with an electronegativity greater than lithium.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 23, 2021
    Publication date: May 19, 2022
    Applicant: Board of Trustees of Northern Illinois University
    Inventors: Yingwen Cheng, Tao Xu, Ke Lu, Haiping Xu
  • Patent number: 11232914
    Abstract: A photovoltaic device, comprises (1) a first conductive layer, (2) an optional blocking layer, on the first conductive layer, (3) a semiconductor layer, on the first conductive layer, (4) n light-harvesting material, on the semiconductor layer, (5) a hole transport material, on the light-harvesting material, and (6) a second conductive layer, on the hole transport material. The light harvesting material comprises, a pervoskite absorber, and the second conductive layer comprises nickel. The semiconductor layer tray comprise TiO2 nanowires. The light-harvesting material may comprise a pervoskite absorber containing a psuedohalogen.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 31, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 25, 2022
    Assignee: Board of Trustees of Northern Illinois University
    Inventor: Tao Xu
  • Patent number: 11217788
    Abstract: An anode of a battery comprises lithium metal, and a dopant, in the lithium metal. The anode has a thickness of at most 50 ?m, and the dopant is a metal with an electronegativity greater than lithium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 16, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2022
    Assignee: Board of Trustees of Northern Illinois University
    Inventors: Yingwen Cheng, Tao Xu, Ke Lu, Haiping Xu
  • Patent number: 10978718
    Abstract: A pyrolyzed MOF catalyst for in the carbon dioxide reduction reaction and methods of making the catalyst. The catalysts are composed of highly porous transition metal organic frameworks exhibiting large pores with regular distribution of transition metals within the structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2017
    Date of Patent: April 13, 2021
    Assignees: UChicago Argonne, LLC, Board or Trustees of Northern Illinois University
    Inventors: Di-Jia Liu, Dominic Rebollar
  • Patent number: 10918350
    Abstract: A computer-implemented system and method for generating a medical image is provided. In some embodiments, the medical image is generated by determining a location and an alignment for a first tracking detector with respect to a particle beam system. The direction of a beam generated from the particle beam system is determined. A first position of a first particle from a detected particle hit on the first tracking detector is also determined. A determination is made as to a first residual range of the first particle from a detected particle hit on a residual range detector. The system reconstructs a path for the first particle based on the location, the alignment, the first position, and the first residual range of the first particle. The resulting medical image that is generated by the system is based on the reconstructed path for the first particle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 27, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 16, 2021
    Assignees: BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY, PROTONVDA LLC
    Inventors: Don F. Dejongh, Ethan A. Dejongh, Kirk Duffin, Nicholas Karonis, Caesar Ordoñez, John Winans
  • Patent number: 10892094
    Abstract: BN nanosheets are prepared by a method comprising heating to a temperature of at least 500° C., a mixture comprising: (1) an alkali borohydride, and (2) an ammonium salt. NaN3 may be included to increase the yield. No catalyst is required, and the product produced contains less than 0.1 atomic percent metal impurities.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 12, 2021
    Assignee: Board of Trustees of Northern Illinois University
    Inventors: Narayan S. Hosmane, Amartya Chakrabarti, Shena M. Peter
  • Patent number: 10866188
    Abstract: A fingermark lifting and visualization device includes a carrier and an indicator. The carrier has a lifting surface. The indicator is immobilized on the lifting surface. The indicator changes color or changes in fluorescence in the visible spectrum in response to contact with a glandular secretion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 4, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 15, 2020
    Assignee: Board of Trustees of Northern Illinois University
    Inventors: Oliver D. Hofstetter, Andrei Mlakar, Claude Roux, Xanthe Spindler, Chris Lennard
  • Patent number: 10844501
    Abstract: Electrocatalysts composed of single atoms dispersed over porous carbon support were prepared by a lithium-melt method. The new catalysts demonstrated high selectivity, high Faradic efficiency and low overpotential toward to the electrocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide to fuels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2020
    Assignees: UChicago Argonne, LLC, Board of Trustees of Northern Illinois University
    Inventors: Di-Jia Liu, Tao Xu, Dominic Rebollar, Haiping Xu
  • Publication number: 20200251289
    Abstract: A photovoltaic device, comprises (1) a first conductive layer, (2) an optional blocking layer, on the first conductive layer, (3) a semiconductor layer, on the first conductive layer, (4) n light-harvesting material, on the semiconductor layer, (5) a hole transport material, on the light-harvesting material, and (6) a second conductive layer, on the hole transport material. The light harvesting material comprises, a pervoskite absorber, and the second conductive layer comprises nickel. The semiconductor layer tray comprise TiO2 nanowires. The light-harvesting material may comprise a pervoskite absorber containing a psuedohalogen.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 31, 2020
    Publication date: August 6, 2020
    Applicant: Board of Trustees of Northern Illinois University
    Inventor: Tao Xu
  • Patent number: 10586659
    Abstract: A photovoltaic device, comprises (1) a first conductive layer, (2) an optional blocking layer, on the first conductive layer, (3) a semiconductor layer, on the first conductive layer, (4) a light-harvesting material, on the semiconductor layer, (5) a hole transport material, on the light-harvesting material, and (6) a second conductive layer, on the hole transport material. The light-harvesting material comprises a perovskite absorber, and the second conductive layer comprises nickel. The semiconductor layer may comprise TiO2 nanowires. The light-harvesting material may comprise a perovskite absorber containing a pseudohalogen.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 2015
    Date of Patent: March 10, 2020
    Assignee: Board of Trustees of Northern Illinois University
    Inventor: Tao Xu
  • Publication number: 20200013973
    Abstract: A light-harvesting material comprises a perovskite absorber doped with a metal chalcogenide. The light-harvesting material may be used in a photovoltaic device, comprising (1) a first conductive layer, (2) an optional blocking layer, on the first conductive layer, (3) a semiconductor layer, on the first conductive layer, (4) a light-harvesting material, on the semiconductor layer, (5) a hole transport material, on the light-harvesting material, and (6) a second conductive layer, on the hole transport material.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 10, 2019
    Publication date: January 9, 2020
    Applicant: Board of Trustees of Northern Illinois University
    Inventor: Tao Xu
  • Patent number: 10512402
    Abstract: Materials and methods are disclosed for screening advanced glycation end-products from the mammalian ocular lens proteins to quantify early biomarkers for the diagnosis of diabetes mellitus and related complications.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 24, 2019
    Assignee: Board of Trustees of Northern Illinois University
    Inventors: Elizabeth R. Gaillard, Devi Kalyan Karumanchi
  • Patent number: 10466189
    Abstract: A calorimeter head and an associated system are provided. The calorimeter head provides symmetric circumferential laminar flow parallel to the bottom plane of a substrate plate of the calorimeter head. The calorimeter head defines a cavity which employs multiple tangentially arranged inlets for receipt of a flow of coolant from a control unit of the system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 5, 2019
    Assignee: Board of Trustees of Northern Illinois University
    Inventors: Federico M. Sciammarella, Joseph S. Santner, Matthew J. Gonser, Justin Whiting, Daniel Nikolov
  • Patent number: 10444416
    Abstract: A method of preparing CsxWO3 particles comprises heating a composition containing (1) cesium, (2) tungsten, (3) a solvent, and (4) a fatty acid, at a temperature of at least 200° C., to produce CsxWO3 particles, with x=0.31-0.33. The solvent comprises benzyl alcohol, and the fatty acid comprises a fatty acid having 10 to 30 carbon atoms.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 24, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2019
    Assignee: Board of Trustees of Northern Illinois University
    Inventors: Chhiu-Tsu Lin, Tsehaye Eyassu
  • Patent number: 10388898
    Abstract: A light-harvesting material comprises a perovskite absorber doped with a metal chalcogenide. The light-harvesting material may be used in a photovoltaic device, comprising (1) a first conductive layer, (2) an optional blocking layer, on the first conductive layer, (3) a semiconductor layer, on the first conductive layer, (4) a light-harvesting material, on the semiconductor layer, (5) a hole transport material, on the light-harvesting material, and (6) a second conductive layer, on the hole transport material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 20, 2019
    Assignee: Board of Trustees of Northern Illinois University
    Inventor: Tao Xu