News Physics

Turning water to steam, no boiling required

Nanoparticles make extremely black material that enables “plasmonic” heating

Gold nanoparticles

HOT STUFF  Gold nanoparticles line the pores of a new material that can absorb a range of visible and infrared wavelengths of light, creating heat. Inset (right) shows the material’s tiny nanopores. 

L. Zhou et al/Science Advances 2016

By Emily Conover

- More than 2 years ago

A new, extremely black material can turn water into steam using only sunlight, without the need to bring the water to a boil.