US 12655032 B1Patent grantUnited States

Magnesium–Zinc Borate Functional Nanomaterial

Official patent title

Multiphase structured nanocomposite material

Arabic title: مادة نانو مركبة بنيوية متعددة الأطوار

Invention

Problem

Multiphase inorganic nanocomposites can suffer phase instability, uneven composition, poorly controlled particle morphology, complex synthesis, high energy demand, and uncertain scale-up.

Why it matters

A controlled borate-oxide composite could support functional-material screening, but its practical value depends on verified application performance, stability, safety, reproducibility, and manufacturing economics.

Approach

The disclosure uses a Pechini sol-gel route with iron, zinc, magnesium, and boron precursors, ammonium tartrate, and triethylene glycol, followed by heating and calcination to form ZnFe(BO3)O/Fe0.67Mg1.33B2O5/C.

Who may benefit

Potential beneficiaries include multiphase-ceramic researchers, borate-material laboratories, catalyst and electrochemical-material developers, sol-gel process engineers, and specialty inorganic producers.

Potential value

The patent defines two crystalline borate-oxide phases with carbon, mixed spherical and rod-like morphology, elemental and crystallite ranges, and a specified Pechini preparation sequence.

Background

Combining multiple inorganic phases can create tunable interfaces and morphologies, yet phase distribution, composition, particle dimensions, processing complexity, and cost can limit reproducibility. Sol-gel and Pechini methods offer molecular-scale precursor mixing but still require careful control of organics, temperature, and calcination. The publication describes zinc-iron and iron-magnesium borate-oxide phases with carbon and supplies XRD, EDX, SEM, and HRTEM characterization. It does not report adsorption, catalytic, electrochemical, mechanical, optical, or other application performance, and an inconsistent Fe2CaO4 formula appears in portions of the abstract and summary.

Technology overview

The predominant composition is orthorhombic ZnFe(BO3)O plus triclinic Fe0.67Mg1.33B2O5 and carbon. Spherical particles average 50–100 nm; rods are 70–130 nm wide and 200–600 nm long; crystallites are 50–90 nm. Elemental ranges include 40–60 at. % O, 12–32 at. % Fe, 1–15 at. % Mg, 0.5–10 at. % B, 0.5–10 at. % Zn, and 0.5–25 at. % C. The mixture is stirred at 250 °C and calcined at 600–800 °C for 2–4 hours.

Potential applications

Multiphase borate-oxide structure and morphology research.
Pechini sol-gel process optimization studies.
Candidate catalyst or adsorbent screening after performance testing.
Exploratory electrochemical-material evaluation.

Evidence-supported advantages

Two identified borate-oxide phases are combined with carbon.
Spherical and rod-like particle ranges are defined.
Elemental and crystallite-size ranges are specified.
A precursor-stabilization and calcination route is disclosed.

Development stage

Laboratory synthesis and XRD, EDX, SEM, and HRTEM characterization are described; formula reconciliation, functional testing, leaching and safety assessment, scale-up, and commercialization were not established.

Commercial opportunity

The material may support specialty-ceramic or catalyst discovery, but no commercial function is demonstrated. Independent studies must first resolve the formula inconsistency, reproduce phase purity and morphology, measure application-specific performance, assess metal and boron leaching, establish process yield and batch consistency, manage nitrate and organic emissions, and benchmark scale-up energy and cost.

Patent classifications

WIPO IPC

C01G49/00Compounds containing metals not covered by subclasses C01D or C01F
B82Y30/00Specific uses or applications of nanostructures; measurement or analysis of nanostructures; manufacture or treatment of nanostructures

CPC

C01G49/0063Compounds containing metals not covered by subclasses C01D or C01F
B82Y30/00Specific uses or applications of nanostructures; measurement or analysis of nanostructures; manufacture or treatment of nanostructures
C01P2002/74Indexing scheme for structural and physical aspects of solid inorganic compounds
C01P2002/76Indexing scheme for structural and physical aspects of solid inorganic compounds
C01P2002/85Indexing scheme for structural and physical aspects of solid inorganic compounds
C01P2004/03Indexing scheme for structural and physical aspects of solid inorganic compounds
C01P2004/04Indexing scheme for structural and physical aspects of solid inorganic compounds
C01P2004/32Indexing scheme for structural and physical aspects of solid inorganic compounds
C01P2004/64Indexing scheme for structural and physical aspects of solid inorganic compounds
C01P2004/82Indexing scheme for structural and physical aspects of solid inorganic compounds

Inventors

First inventorEhab Abdelhamed Abdelrahman Ahmed
InventorBabiker Yagoub Elhadi Abdulkhair

Keywords

zinc iron borate oxide
iron magnesium borate oxide
Pechini method
sol-gel
nanorods
multiphase nanocomposite
calcination
crystallite size

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.