Soldering facility

Case ID: sldr-267

Web Published: 2/6/2021

Solar Water Purification and Decontamination Hybrid Hydrogel

Docket # XX-XXXX-X

The laboratory of Prof. Rodney Priestley at Princeton University has developed a novel 3D solar absorber gel that can take full utilization of renewable solar energy for high-efficiency water purification and production. This is the first reported material that integrates all the desirable optical, thermal, and wetting properties to solve the long-standing clean water shortage crisis. The promising sunlight driven gel can significantly improve clean water production efficiency, inspiring new strategies for superior water treatment materials.

This 3D sunlight driven purifier is easily prepared at room temperature by immersing supporting gel into dopamine solution and sodium alginate solution, respectively. Therefore, this fabrication process is facile and convenient without any complicated and advanced equipment. Moreover, all the ingredients are low-cost, non-toxic, and green materials that dissolve in an aqueous solution without any expensive solvent, and there is no secondary pollution generated during the process. Besides that, the 3D porous gel exhibits fast production of high-quality clean water under 1 sun irradiation, which favors the practical applications for water harvesting from diverse wastewater.

Advantages

Facile, green, time-saving, and cost-efficient fabrication process
High purification performance against natural particulates, such as dust, sand, bacteria in fresh water
Water collection rate of the 3D solar absorber gel is much higher than any other conventional sunlight evaporation devices reported to date

Publications

A publication is in preparation.

Intellectual Property & Development Status

A proof-of-concept prototype has been built and efficacy has been demonstrated in water contaminated with oils, bacteria and an organic dye; the 3D gel has also been shown to be reusable.

Patent protection is pending. A US Provisional Patent Application Serial Number 63/015,855 entitled “Solar Water Purification and Decontamination Hybrid Hydrogel” has been filed on April 27, 2020.

Princeton is seeking industry collaborators and/or investors for the further development and commercialization of this technology

The Faculty Inventor