Clean water is critical for drinking, industrial processes, and aquatic organisms. Existing water treatment and infrastructure are chemically intensive and based on nearly century-old technologies that fail to meet modern large and decentralized communities. The next-generation of water processes can transition from outdated technologies by utilizing nanomaterials to harness energy from across the electromagnetic spectrum, enabling electrified and solar-based technologies. The last decade was marked by tremendous improvements in nanomaterial design, synthesis, characterization, and assessment of material properties. Realizing the benefits of these advances requires placing greater attention on embedding nanomaterials onto and into surfaces within reactors and applying external energy sources. This will allow nanomaterial-based processes to replace Victorian-aged, chemical intensive water treatment technologies.

清洁水对于饮用、工业过程和水生生物至关重要。现有的水处理和基础设施是化学密集型的，并且基于近百年历史的技术，无法满足现代大型和分散社区的需求。下一代水处理工艺可以通过利用纳米材料来利用来自整个电磁频谱的能量，从而实现电气化和太阳能技术，从而从过时的技术过渡。过去十年的标志是纳米材料设计、合成、表征和材料特性评估方面的巨大进步。实现这些进步的好处需要更加关注将纳米材料嵌入到反应器内的表面和应用外部能源。