An improved photocatalytic reactor stator having a first surface and an opposing second surface, and at least one channel extending between the first surface and the second surface to allow fluid flow through the stator. The at least one channel may be configured to redirect the fluid flow in a direction substantially parallel to the first and/or second surface. This improved photocatalytic reactor stator improves the performance of a photocatalytic reactor by increasing the mobility of the photocatalyst and thereby increasing the surface area of the catalyst that is exposed to the reactant and the UV light source.

A photocatalyst powder is provided. The photocatalyst powder includes a plurality of nano crystallite aggregates formed by a plurality of nano crystallites. Each of the nano crystallites exhibits a single crystal structure. The nano crystallites have different compositions, different crystal phases, and different lattice constants from each other. An example of the nano crystallites is represented as the formula of ZnO.sub.1-xS.sub.x with different x values in each of the nano crystallites. In addition, a hydrogen producing system is also provided.

The present disclosure relates to methods of combining chemical enhancement and physical enhancement to produce a combined synergistic total enhancement, and more specifically to methods of irradiating samples containing nanomaterials capable of producing chemical or physical enhancement to produce combined synergistic total enhancement.

InGaN offers a route to high efficiency overall water splitting under one-step photo-excitation. Further, the chemical stability of metal-nitrides supports their use as an alternative photocatalyst. However, the efficiency of overall water splitting using InGaN and other visible light responsive photocatalysts has remained extremely low despite prior art work addressing optical absorption through band gap engineering. Within this prior art the detrimental effects of unbalanced charge carrier extraction/collection on the efficiency of the four electron-hole water splitting reaction have remained largely unaddressed. To address this growth processes are presented that allow for controlled adjustment and establishment of the appropriate Fermi level and/or band bending in order to allow the photochemical water splitting to proceed at high rate and high efficiency. Beneficially, establishing such material surface charge properties also reduces photo-corrosion and instability under harsh photocatalysis conditions.

A visible light sensitive photocatalyst including a compound represented by Formula 1:
A.sub.a-xM.sup.1.sub.xSi.sub.b-yM.sup.2.sub.yO.sub.c  Formula 1
wherein A is one or more metals selected from Ag, Cu, and Au; M.sup.1 is one or more metals selected from Li, Na, K, Rb, and Cs; M.sup.2 is one or more metals selected from Ge, Sn, Ti, Zr, and Hf, and 1.7≦a≦2.3, 0.7≦b≦1.3, 2.7≦c≦3.3, 0≦x<a, and 0≦y<b.

The invention relates to a reactor comprising a plasma source and a catalyst comprising a mesoporous support. The invention also relates to a process comprising feeding methane to said reactor in order to obtain one or more of ethene, hydrogen and carbon as well as downstream products derived from ethene thus obtained. The invention relates to a reactor comprising as reactor parts: a. a housing and in said housing; b. a plasma source; and c. a catalyst, wherein said catalyst comprises as catalyst parts: i) a mesoporous support; ii) a metal selected from the group Pd, Ni, Ag or at least two thereof, wherein the metal is carried by said mesoporous support; wherein at least a part of said plasma source is located in said housing upstream of said catalyst.

An invention is provided for conversion of methane into hydrocarbon fuels is disclosed. The invention includes providing methane to an illumination chamber, and illuminating the methane with substantially narrow bandwidth photons of a predefined wavelength. The photons are provided from a substantially uncollimated light source producing photon intensities less than 10 Watt/m.sup.2. As a result, the methane is placed in an excited state that results in the molecules of the methane reacting more readily with other molecules to form a final product.

Methods of making fuel are described herein. A method may include providing a first working fluid, a second working fluid, and a third working fluid. The method may also include exposing the first working fluid to a first high voltage electric field to produce a first plasma, exposing the second working fluid to a second high voltage electric field to produce a second plasma, and exposing the third working fluid to a third high voltage electric field to produce a third plasma. The method may also include providing and contacting a carbon-based feedstock with the third plasma, the second plasma, and the first plasma within a processing chamber to form a mixture, cooling the mixture using a heat exchange device to form a cooled mixture, and contacting the cooled mixture with a catalyst to form a fuel.

Described herein are systems incorporating a Casimir cavity, such as an optical Casimir cavity or a plasmon Casimir cavity. The Casimir cavity modifies the zero-point energy density therein as compared to outside of the Casimir cavity. The Casimir cavities are paired in the disclosed systems with product generating devices and the difference in zero-point energy densities is used to directly drive the generation of products, such as chemical reaction products or emitted light.

The present invention concerns a reactor for the conversion of carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide into hydrocarbon and/or alcohol comprising a support made from an electrically and thermally conductive material, forming the wall or walls of at least one longitudinal channel that passes through the support and also acting as the cathode of the reactor, at least one wire electrode forming an anode of the reactor, and extending within each longitudinal channel, and being arranged at a distance from the wall or walls of the longitudinal channel, each wire electrode optionally being covered with an electrically insulating layer along the part of the wire electrode extending within the longitudinal channel, a catalyst capable of catalysing a conversion reaction for the conversion of carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide into hydrocarbon and/or alcohol, the catalyst being situated between the wire electrode and the wall or walls of each longitudinal channel.