US 12508569 B1Patent grantUnited States

Zinc–Iron Borate Functional Nanomaterial

Official patent title

Multiphase nanocomposite material

Arabic title: مادة نانو مركبة متعددة الأطوار

Invention

Problem

Multiphase nanocomposite fabrication can suffer nonuniform phase distribution, uncontrolled particle size, agglomeration, inadequate porosity, high-temperature processing, complex protocols, and difficulty balancing conductivity, durability, and structural stability.

Why it matters

A compositionally defined material and preparation window could aid reproducible multiphase-material research, but no application-specific functional performance is established; target use, safety, scalability, energy demand, and commercial value require independent verification.

Approach

The disclosure forms a ZnFe(BO3)O/Fe2CaO4/C material from nitrate and boric-acid precursors stabilized with ammonium tartrate and triethylene glycol, followed by high-temperature calcination.

Who may benefit

Potential beneficiaries include university materials laboratories, multiphase-oxide researchers, nanocomposite process developers, characterization facilities, and industrial R&D teams seeking defined exploratory material libraries.

Potential value

The disclosure supplies a defined two-orthorhombic-phase/carbon composition, elemental ranges, crystallite-size windows, and a reproducible precursor-and-calcination sequence for materials screening.

Background

Nanocomposites can combine phases to tune morphology, crystallinity, porosity, electrical behavior, optical response, and catalytic properties. Achieving those combinations reproducibly remains difficult because common hydrothermal, sol-gel, and solid-state routes can produce agglomeration, uneven phase distribution, uncontrolled particle size, or insufficient porosity. High temperatures and multistep protocols can also complicate scale-up and structural stability. The publication addresses this fabrication problem through defined metal-nitrate, boric-acid, complexing-agent, polyol, and calcination conditions for a zinc-iron-borate/iron-calcium-oxide/carbon material.

Technology overview

The claimed ZnFe(BO3)O/Fe2CaO4/C material contains orthorhombic ZnFe(BO3)O and Fe2CaO4 phases with irregular granular and flake-like particles. Its average crystallite size is specified from 40 to 95 nm. Production adds ammonium tartrate to Fe(NO3)3·9H2O, Zn(NO3)2·6H2O, Ca(NO3)2·4H2O, and H3BO3, then adds triethylene glycol and stirs at 250° C. until solid formation. The solid is calcined at 600 to 800° C. for 1 to 5 hours, with dependent claims defining narrower precursor and heating ranges.

Potential applications

Materials research on multiphase oxide-and-carbon nanocomposites.
Process-development studies for precursor-and-calcination synthesis.
Application-specific screening in catalysis, energy, or electronic-materials research.

Evidence-supported advantages

Defines two orthorhombic crystalline phases in one material.
Specifies elemental-composition and crystallite-size ranges.
Provides explicit precursor concentrations and calcination windows.
Includes both granular and flake-like particle morphologies.

Development stage

The patent publication specifies a material and fabrication protocol; application-specific performance and commercialization were not established, and development stage was not independently verified.

Commercial opportunity

The primary near-term opportunity is licensing the composition or synthesis protocol for application-led materials R&D. A commercial product case cannot be determined from the publication until a target use is selected and functional performance, repeatability, process yield, safety, energy consumption, scale-up, and comparative economics are demonstrated.

Patent classifications

WIPO IPC

B01J20/02Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus
B01J20/04Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus
B01J20/20Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus
B01J20/28Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus
B01J20/30Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus

CPC

B01J20/024Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus
B01J20/0274Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus
B01J20/041Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus
B01J20/20Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus
B01J20/28011Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus
B01J20/28016Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus
B01J20/3078Chemical or physical processes, e.g. catalysis or colloid chemistry; their relevant apparatus

Inventors

First inventorEhab Abdelhamed Abdelrahman Ahmed
InventorBabiker Yagoub Elhadi Abdulkhair

Keywords

multiphase nanocomposite
ZnFe(BO3)O
Fe2CaO4
carbon
calcination
crystallite size
orthorhombic phase
materials synthesis

Patent document and drawings

The patent publication is mapped to this record. Patent drawings remain within that publication; no separately cleared public media package has been supplied.