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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.
[1
]Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, ‡Department of Physics and Astronomy,
Laboratory for Nanophotonics, and the Rice Quantum Institute, Rice University, 6100
Main Street, Houston, Texas 77005, United States