A bioinspired, reusable, paper-based system for high-performance large-scale evaporation

Abstract

A bioinspired, reusable, paper-based gold-nanoparticle film is fabricated by depositing an as-prepared gold-nanoparticle thin film on airlaid paper. This paper-based system with enhanced surface roughness and low thermal conductivity exhibits increased efficiency of evaporation, scale-up potential, and proven reusability. It is also demonstrated to be potentially useful in seawater desalination.

Keywords: bioinspired materials; evaporation; paper-based materials; plasmonic heating; reusable materials.