Granted Patent B1

US 12,398,271 · App. 18/677,384 · Granted Aug 26, 2025

Inventors: Ahmed El-Zohry (Dhahran, SA); Theis Solling (Dhahran, SA)

Assignee: KING FAHD UNIVERSITY OF PETROLEUM AND MINERALS

C08L95/005C08K3/105C08K3/11C08K3/30C08L35/02C09K11/565C09K11/615C09K11/616C09K11/883C08K2003/3036

Abstract

Claims (33)

1. A method of illuminating a pavement, comprising:

mixing asphaltenes and a polymer in a solvent to form a solution;

coating the pavement with the solution and evaporating the solvent to form a coated pavement; and

irradiating the coated pavement,

wherein following the irradiating, the asphaltenes emit light thereby illuminating the pavement,

wherein the asphaltenes are homogeneously dispersed in a matrix of the polymer in the coated pavement,

wherein the polymer has a following formula (I),

wherein R 1 and R 2 are each independently an optionally substituted alkyl group having 1-20 carbon atoms or an optionally substituted aryl group having 1-20 carbon atoms, and

n is 2-10000.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the asphaltenes comprise carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, vanadium, and nickel.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the asphaltenes are not aggregated in the coated pavement.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the asphaltenes are sourced from crude oil, bitumen, or coal.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the asphaltenes have a molecular weight of 200-2000 g/mol.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the asphaltenes have a concentration of 1-1000 ng/mL in the solution.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising dissolving the asphaltenes in toluene prior to the mixing.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising halogenating the asphaltenes with at least one of chlorine, bromine, and iodine prior to the mixing.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the solvent is at least one of tetrahydrofuran, toluene, cyclohexanone, ethyl acetate, dichloromethane, and chloroform.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein the asphaltenes emit white light having a wavelength of 400-800 nm.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the polymer is polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA).

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the polymer has a molecular weight of 100-200,000 g/mol.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein at least one of R 1 and R 2 in the polymer comprises an optionally substituted naphthalene.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the naphthalene is substituted with at least one of a hydroxyl and a halide.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the irradiating is from at least one source selected from vehicle headlights, streetlights, and sunlight.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the irradiating is with light having a wavelength of 310-390 nm.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the solution further comprises at least one additive selected from water, sodium dodecyl sulphate, CuBr, NaI, CuSO 4 , GaCl 3 , LiCl, CsF, FeCl 3 , CaCl 2 , K 2 SO 4 , NaCl, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, ZnCl 2 , Cr 2 (NO 3 ) 2 , NiI, and CdSe/ZnS quantum dots.

18. The method of claim 1 , wherein the solution further comprises at least one additive selected from CaCl 2 , NiI, and CdSe/ZnS quantum dots.

19. The method of claim 1 , wherein a covalent bond is formed between the asphaltenes and the polymer during the mixing.

20. The method of claim 1 , wherein the coating forms a coated pavement comprising:

a top layer comprising the asphaltenes and the polymer, and

a bottom layer comprising a solid stone aggregate dispersed in an asphalt matrix,

wherein the asphalt matrix comprises asphaltene components different from the asphaltenes in the top layer,

wherein the first layer has a thickness of less than 0.1 times the thickness of the second layer, and

wherein the asphaltene components in the asphalt matrix are aggregated and do not emit light.

Assignments (1)

References Cited (8)