https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/202328709014
Exploiting the aluminum nitride bandgap for water separation and light-enhanced evaporation
University of California, Riverside, 900 University Ave, Riverside, CA 92521
* e-mail: nsing082@UCR.edu
** e-mail: LuatV@UCR.edu
Published online: 18 October 2023
The aluminum nitride bandgap energy matches the binding energy between salt and water molecules. Here we study the effect of 405-nm light on the rates of evaporation when saline solutions are im-bibed within a porous ceramic aluminum nitride wick. Sensitive measurements are taken in a self-referencing setup and compared with the capillary fluid response. Evaporation rates increase with light illumination when the solution is more saline in a manner that indicates interfacial charge-transfer characteristics. Our results show consistent trends and strong potential for photonic environmental applications in salt-water separation
© The Authors, published by EDP Sciences, 2023
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
