Micro and nanomaterial-assisted solar desalination
Desalination; nanomaterials; hierarchical materials; solar desalination; water treatment;
Aware of the global need for access to drinking water and that most of the water on the globe contains salinity levels that make it impossible to consume and use it, we propose, in this research project, activities that will enable us to understand some of the phenomena pertinent to the operation of solar desalination plants using photosensitive materials of a semiconductor nature. The expected results will enable us to understand how this equipment can be optimized with respect to its desalinated water production capacity. Regarding materials, we propose the use of simple micro and nanostructured oxides organized hierarchically or not and with semiconductor character. The choice of these material classes is based on their physicochemical nature. Thus, oxide-based materials of different natures and different sizes will be produced, as well as characterization of the oxides and consequent execution of solar desalination tests in a photo assisted environment. The tests will cover the products and by-products obtained in the experiments in order to observe the best conditions. This project will be developed by a multidisciplinary team within the scope of Chemical and Materials Engineering.