US Patent 8172925 - Air filter with antimicrobial nanoparticles

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/8172925.html

This patent from Korea Institute of Science and Technology teaches an improvement to air filters used in vehicles in which metal nanoparticles are used as an antimicrobial agent. Claim 1 reads:

1. A multi-functional cabin air filter, comprising:

a dust collecting filter layer for collecting fine dust;

an oxidation catalyst filter layer for oxidizing nitrogen monoxide into nitrogen dioxide; and

an adsorption filter layer for adsorbing nitrogen dioxide and volatile organic compounds,

wherein antimicrobial nanoparticles are applied to at least one of the dust collecting filter layer, the oxidation catalyst filter layer and the adsorption filter layer.                             

US Patent 8048567 - Nanofiber structured anode for secondary battery

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/8048567.html

This patent from Korean researchers teaches a rechargable battery with higher speed charging/discharging rates by using nanostructured materials. Claim 1 reads:

1. An anode for a secondary battery, comprising:

an anode collector; and

a negative active material compressed on at least one surface of the collector and being a thin porous metal oxide layer with a tangled web structure of nano-fibers composed of at least one of nano-grains, nano-rods, and nano-particles.

US Patent 7776445 - Graphene-diamond hybrid material

http://ip.com/patent/US7776445

This patent is from Korea Institute of Science and Technology and teaches a way to synthesize single layer graphene on a nanocrystalline diamond layer deposited by CVD. Claim 1 reads:

1. An AA graphene-diamond hybrid material, comprising:

a diamond matrix having edges of disconnected {111} lattice planes on the surface thereof; and

AA graphene layers epitaxially grown on the edges of the {111} lattice planes.

US Patent 7309385 - 3D nanostructure gas separation membrane

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7309385.html

Gas separation membranes must balance both the selectivity in the gases that are passed and the permeability of the membrane and an improvement in one of selectivity or permeability comes at the cost of the other. This invention provides a high surface area membrane structure using nanostuctured tubes to enhance the permeability without sacrificing selectivity. Claim 1 reads:

1. A gas separation membrane of two or more layers comprising a separating layer of 3-dimensional nanostructure and a supporting layer, wherein the 3-dimensional nanostructure contains the array of hollow tubes whose heads are closed and bottoms are open.