US Patent 7068898 - Nanocomposite With Type II Band Offset Nanostructures

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7068898.pdf

Solar cells is one area gathering a lot of interest for nanotechnology applications. It is seen by some that nanocomposites may provide a significant increase in efficiency as well as enabling the creation of flexible solar panels. This particular patent uses core/shell nanoparticles with a type II band offset between the core and shell semiconductor material (meaning that there is an overlap between one, but not both, of the valance and conduction bands of the core and shell material). Claim 1 reads:

1. A composite material, comprising: a matrix; and one or more nanostructures, the one or more nanostructures each comprising a core and at least one shell, the core comprising a first semiconducting material having a conduction band and a valence band, the shell comprising a second semiconducting material having a conduction band and a valence band, and the first and second materials having a type II band offset.