Photo electrochemical procedure to break the water molecule in hydrogen and oxygen using as the main substrate the melanines, their precursors, analogues or derivates

Abstract

This invention consists essentially in the employment of the melanines, precursors of the melanines, derivates of the melanines, variants, analogues of the melanines, or their precursors natural or synthetic, pure or mixed with organic or inorganic compounds, metals ions drugs; as water electrolyzing materials, employing as its only or main energy source light, natural or synthetic, coherent or not, in the hydrogen producing systems from water known as photoelectrochemical. These systems integrate a semiconductor material and a water electrolyzing element within a monolytic design to produce hydrogen directly from water, employing light (from 200 to 900 nm wavelengths) as its only or main energy source Although simple in concept, the challenge was to find a material that could bear or sustain the whole process. At least two basic criteria should be met: the system or compound that absorbs the Light should generate enough energy to Start, continue, support and finish the water photolysis or photoelectrolizing reaction, within low price, being stable and durable in a watery environment, requisites that the melanines, their analogues, precursors or derivates, fulfill reasonably and efficiently, which is an important and critical advance in solving out the main problem of the photo electrochemical designs. The procedure may be used to generate hydrogen and oxygen atoms and high energy electrons or in reverse sense, synthesizing water molecules binding hydrogen and oxygen atoms, thus producing electricity, these can be employed together or with other new and important industrial processes to obtain energy and to store it, since the melanines may store the electricity and gasses; property that would have a multiplying effect, it may be used also to the reduction of carbon dioxide, nitrates, sulphates, and other molecules.

1 . I start my claimings about the employment of the melanines as an electrolyzing material or MEDIO, of the water molecule, in presence of light, since it generates energy when tweaking the water molecule, obtaining hydrogen and oxygen atoms, as well as high energy electrons, or the opposite reaction, binding back hydrogen and oxygen atoms, obtaining water molecules and electric current. This are processes that are intensively pursued in the lab and in the industry because of the advantages that it provides to generate and control an event of this nature, having as its only energy source to start, drive and finish the whole process the visible luminous energy that is consider as a removable resource, and the end products are highly ecologic. Until now this process has never been done in the lab or in the industry because they lack of a subtract or a material that could bear these events completely, from the induction or beginning of the process, followed by the energizing of the process and the ending of it with the obtention of the desired products, commonly, hydrogen, oxygen atoms, high energy electrons, electric current, all depending on the direction of the reaction, going through the different chemical reactions that comprise these steps. This substrate should be tong tasting, efficient, trustable, easy to reproduce, not pollutant when made, when used or when recycled, and advantageous when compared with other known ways to produce hydrogen and/or electric energy, not applicable in high scale for different technic, ecologic, politic or economic reasons, and that are based in removable energy resources, unlike the actual processes that general and massively are applied to generate energy from not removable energy resources that are alarming getting to its depletion, not considering the energy generation from atoms, whose employment has generated catastrophes, and nature pollution worst than a nightmare Exposing in this patent the advantages of the employment of removable resources, based in ecologic processes whose economic, politic and technic feasibility is high, makes our claims characterized by the use of a substrate that fills the needed requisites to generate energy from removable resources such as the sunlight and water, whose production, employment and recycling are remarkably ecologic. The improvement we propose and claim comprises the employment of the melanines, their precursors, melanin's derivates, variants, analogues, natural or synthetic, pure or mixed (with organic or inorganic compounds, metals, ions or drugs) as the main element to any photo electro chemical process that allow us to break water molecules in hydrogen and oxygen atoms and/or its derivates in an incomplete reduction that use as its main source of energy light from any emission (natural, synthetic, coherent or not) with wavelengths among 200 and 900 nm, even though some other wavelengths and forms of energy may be useful (sound, mechanic agitation, magnetic fields, etc) depending on the physic-chemical configuration of the system, which will also led as a result high energy electrons generations or the opposite reaction, the binding back of the hydrogen and oxygen atoms making water molecules, and generating electricity or electric current There may be generation of incomplete oxygen atom reduction such as superoxide atoms, anion superoxide molecules, hydrogen peroxide and oxyhydrides. All these taking place in a room temperature and is susceptible of modification according to the variables and parameters surrounding this kind of design, for example the nature of the employed melanin, the addition of some metals, as well as inorganic or organic compounds, pharmacs, pressure, temperature, pH, gasses, the shape of the container, rheologic characteristics of the contents. The energizing of the process is made through natural or artificial light, visible, invisible, focused, coherent, etc. The possibilities to modify the characteristics of the process are huge and so is the resultant efficiency on the generation of the desired end products such as the quantity of the generated hydrogen or oxygen atoms or high energy electrons, or in the reverse reaction water molecules, electricity or electric current, oxyhidriles, peroxide hydrogen. There is the possibility to optimize any photo electro chemical design with melanines, their analogues, precursors, or derivates, pure or mixed, natural or synthetic, but always having them as the central compound and this possibility permits the widespread or massive employment of alternate sources of energy (hydrogen oxygen, high energy electrons, water and electricity) from removable resources such as the water and sunlight. The processes above mentioned may be used isolated or adjoined with other known methods or to be known processes to produce energy through hydrogen or electric current. 
   
   
       2 . Due to the improvement that suppose or comprises my proposal, I claim, like in number  1 ; the employment of the melanines, their precursors, derivates of the melanines, variants, analogues of the melanines, natural or synthetic, pure or mixed (organic or inorganic compounds, metals, ions, drugs) for photo electro chemical process as claimed in number  1  where such substances may be polyhydroxilindol, eumelanine, pheomelanine, allomelanine, neuromelanine, humic acid, fullerenes, graphite, polyindoquinone, acetylene-black, pyrrole-black, indole-black, benzene black, thiophene-black, aniline-black, hydrated polyquinones, sepiamelanines, dopa-black, dopamine-black, adrenaline-black, adrenaline-black, catechol-black, 4 amine catechol-black, (single linear chain, aliphatic, aromatic) and/or their precursors, such as phenols, aminophenols, diphenols, indol-polyphenols, cyclodope, DHI and DHICA, quinones, semiquinones or hydroquinones, L-tyrosine, L-dopamine, morpholine-ortho-benzoquinone, dimorpholine-orto-benzoquinone, morpholincathecol, orthobenzoquinone, porphyrin-black, pterin-black, ommochrome-black, free nitrogen precursors any of the above mentioned, in any size of the particle (from 1 angstrom to 2-3 cm). Any of the compounds mentioned above, electro active, in suspension, solution or gel, that absorb ultrasound in 1 MHz interval, natural or synthetic of vegetal, animal or mineral origin, pure or mixed with organic or inorganic compounds, ions, metal, drugs or others as the main or accessory materials. In the process the concentrations mainly of the melanin, that may fluctuate from 0.1% to 100% or more, depending on the melanin's Physic-chemical characteristics and rheologic of the design. Given the melanin's characteristics, we claim its employment to the reduction of the carbon dioxide reduction, sulphate and nitrates. And overall, we claim its employment in any industrial, medical, laboratory process, isolated or as a part of series of processes based completely or partially on the melanin's characteristics, its analogues, precursors or derivates, to generate oxygen atoms, hydrogen and high energy electrons, or the opposite reaction: binding hydrogen and oxygen atoms to form water molecules and electricity or electric current. The forementioned in an environment that has water molecules in any form or variant analogues precursors or derivates, employing as the only or main source of energy natural or synthetic light, coherent or not, concentrated or disperse, as well as other different wavelengths comprised among 200 and 900 nm of the electromagnetic spectrum. It is also possible to energize the process through sound, mechanic agitation and magnetic field and others. 
   
   
       3 . We also claim as in number  1 , the employment of the melanines, precursors of the melanines, derivates of the melanines, variants, analogues of the melanines, natural or synthetic, pure or mixed (with organic or inorganic compounds, metals, ions, drugs) in designs with the objective to produce energy either producing electric current when binding hydrogen and oxygen atoms, to form water molecules, or generating hydrogen and oxygen atoms when breaking photo-electro-chemically the water molecule, or profiting the melanines's properties to generate hydrogen peroxide, superoxide anion, oxyhydrides, and monoatomic or molecular oxygen, or high energy electrons. All these starts breaking the water molecule, employing as the main energy source electromagnetic radiations, in wavelengths among 200 and 900 nm, although some other wavelengths and other kinds of energy (sound, mechanic agitation, magnetic fields) may be useful. We also claim the melanines's property to store energy, it may function as a battery or accumulator, this means that they do not only generate energy, but also they are able to store it for a period of time within certain limits. 
   
   
       4 . We claim according to number t, that in the apparatus or design that allows the employment of the melanines, derivates of the melanines, their variants analogues of the melanines, natural or synthetic, pure or mixed (with organic or inorganic compounds, metals, ions drugs), for photo-electro-chemic processes, or energy producing as claimed in  1  to  3 , through the employment of magnetic fields in a low to significant intensity. 
   
   
       5 . We claim as in number  1  the employment of melanines, precursors, derivates, variants, analogues of melanines, natural or synthetic, pure or mixed (with organic or inorganic compounds, metal, ions or drugs) for the photo electrochemical process that permits the breaking down of the water molecule in hydrogen and oxygen atoms and/or their derivates from incomplete reductions, using Light from any source (natural or synthetic, coherent or not) mainly in wavelengths among 200-900 nm, 
   
   
       6 . We claim. Like in  1  and  2 ; the employment of the melanines, precursors of the melanines, derivates of the melanines, variants, analogues of the melanines, natural or synthetic, pure or mixed (With organic or inorganic compounds metals, ions or drugs) for photoelectrochemic processes, as claimed in number  1 , where such substances substances may be polyhydroxiindol, eumelanine, pheomelanine, allomelanine, neuromelanine, humic acid, fullerenes, graphite, polyindoquinone, acetylene-black, pyrrole-black, indole-black, benzene-black, thiophene-black, aniline-black, hydrated polyquinones, sepiamelamines, dopa-black, dopamine-black, adrenaline-black, adrenaline-black, catechol-black, 4 amine catechol-black, (single linear chain, aliphatic, aromatic) and/or their precursors, such as phenols, aminophenols, diphenols, indol-polyphenols, cyclodope, DHI and DHICA, quinones, semiquinones or hydroquinones, L-tyrosine, L-dopamine, morpholine-ortho-benzoquinone, dimoroholene-orto-benzoquinone, morpholincatheeol, orthobenzoquinone, porphyrin-black, pterin-black, ommochrome-black, free nitrogen precursors any of the above mentioned, in any size of the particle (from 1 angstrom to 2-3 cm). Any of the compounds mentioned above, electro active, in suspension, solution or gel, that absorb ultrasound in 1 MHz interval, natural or synthetic of vegetal, animal or mineral origin, pure or mixed (with organic or inorganic compounds, ions, metal, drugs or pharmacs) as the main, central principal or essential materials. In the process the concentration of the melanines should be taken in to account and may fluctuate from 0.1% to 100% or more. 
   
   
       7 . We claimed, like in  1  and  2 , the employment of the melanines, precursors of the melanines, derivates of the melanines, variants, analogues, natural or synthetic, pure or mixed (with organic or inorganic compounds, metals, ions or drugs) in designs that have the objective to produce energy either producing electric current when binding hydrogen and oxygen atoms, or generating hydrogen directly from breaking photoelectrochemically the water, or profittin the melanines's property to generate hydrogen peroxide, superoxide anion, oxyhydrides and monoatomic or molecular oxygen as in number  1 . 
   
   
       8 . We claim, like in number  1 ; the system that allows the employment of the melanines, precursors of the melanines, derivates of the melanines, derivates of the melanines, variants, analogues of the melanines, natural or synthetic, pure or mixed (with inorganic or organic compounds, metals, ions or drugs) to the photoelectrochemic process or energy production as claimed in number  1  to  3 , that comprises the application of magnetic fields in a low or significant energy, and with events that may occur under physic or chemic stimuli, internal or external. To expose such substances they must be in a container. Such apparatus permits the control of the partial pressure of the gases and these may vary from 0.1 mmHg to 3 or 4 pressure atmospheres, may fluctuate from 0.1 mm of Hg until some atmospheres of pression. 
   
   
       9 . We claim, like in  1 ; the apparatus that allows the employment of the melanines, precursors of the melanines, derivates of the melanines, variants, analogues of the melanines, natural or synthetic, pure or mixed (with organic or inorganic compounds, metals, ions, drugs, or pharmacs) to the photoelectrochemic process or energy producing as claimed in number  4 , whose container allow the exposure of such substances in a wider area through a flat shape or any other like the described before in this patent.