A steam nanogenerator

Prando, Giacomo

doi:10.1038/nnano.2017.117

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Published: 06 June 2017

Water remediation

A steam nanogenerator

Giacomo Prando

Nature Nanotechnology volume 12, page 506 (2017)Cite this article

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The virtually infinite reservoirs offered by seas and oceans give hope for a solution to the scarcity of clean water — one of the most serious current challenges worldwide, projected to become even more critical as years go by. Such a wide issue can naturally be tackled from different angles, the better use of our current resources being a relevant example to which everyone can contribute. Simultaneously, researchers constantly look for more and more effective purification processes, such as desalination and the removal of pollutants, to increase the amount of available water.

Evaporation is a natural solution to detach water from unwanted contaminants effectively, and thermal processes have been widely exploited in the past for this aim. However, unsustainable energy consumption and, in turn, additional pollution usually emerge as unavoidable and unacceptable side effects — calling for alternative, more efficient approaches. Simultaneously, a versatile method capable of preserving high efficiencies in extreme environments as various as seawater, brackish groundwater and even industrial wastewater is intensively sought.

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