title: Solar vapor generation enabled by nanoparticles.
abstract: Solar illumination of broadly absorbing metal or carbon nanoparticles dispersed in a liquid produces vapor without the requirement of heating the fluid volume. When particles are dispersed in water at ambient temperature, energy is directed primarily to vaporization of water into steam, with a much smaller fraction resulting in heating of the fluid. Sunlight-illuminated particles can also drive H(2)O-ethanol distillation, yielding fractions significantly richer in ethanol content than simple thermal distillation. These phenomena can also enable important compact solar applications such as sterilization of waste and surgical instruments in resource-poor locations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Laboratory for Nanophotonics, and the Rice Quantum Institute, Rice University, 6100 Main Street, Houston, Texas 77005, USA.
authors.forename: Oara
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Neumann
authors.forename: Alexander S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Urban
authors.forename: Jared
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Day
authors.forename: Surbhi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lal
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nordlander
authors.forename: Naomi J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Halas
mesh_terms: D005740:Gases / Q000138:chemical synthesis*; D008422:Materials Testing; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000528:radiation effects*; D012993:Solar Energy
chemical_list: D005740:Gases