Table of Contents
| Figure 1: Different Methods of Water Purification [1] |
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What is a Water Purification?
Water purification is any process that removes contaminants that exist within water in order to make it more fit for various uses. In the coming years, it is expected that water scarcities will increase as a result of droughts, population growth and urbanization [2]. Figure 1 demonstrates the progress that has already been made with various water purification methods, from boiling and sedimentation to the use of ultraviolet light and reverse osmosis. Nanotechnology is an area that has the potential to provide new approaches to water purification while also reducing chemical usage and favoring the environment.
Nanoparticles for Water Purification
Nanoparticles have been an interest in the topic of water purification for their ability to disperse well in water, along with their photothermal properties, converting light to heat, and photocatalytic properties, using light to activate a chemical process [3]. One problem however, is the poor stability of nanoparticles as stabilizing agents are typically not suitable for water purification methods.