Solar nanowire-nanotube filter offers easy access to clean drinking water
Solar nanowire-nanotube filter offers easy access to clean drinking water (techxplore.com)
Even today, clean water is a privilege for many people around the world. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), at least 1.8 billion people consume water contaminated with feces, and by 2040, a large portion of the world will endure water stress because of insufficient resources of drinking water. Meanwhile, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), around 1,800 children die every day from diarrhoea because of unsafe water supply, which causes diseases like cholera.
It has become imperative then that we develop efficient and cost-efficient ways to decontaminate water. And that is exactly what a team of scientists led by László Forró at EPFL have accomplished, with a new water purification filter that combines titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanowires and carbon nanotubes powered by nothing but sunlight.