Professor Kim Kyoung-sik’s Research Team Develops

Black Gold Membrane That Generates Water Vapor Using Solar Power

-Article published in Nature Communications

Yonsei College of Mechanical Engineering Professor Kim Kyoung-Sik is part of a research team that has developed flexible, thin-film, black gold membranes that allow for highly-efficient water vapor generation. Using only solar power, this technology can boil water in a short period of time. The results of the research were published December 14 in Nature Communications, with the title “Flexible thin-film black gold membranes with ultrabroadband plasmonic nanofocusing for efficient solar vapour generation.”

Because the black gold membrane does not require a complicated system for production, it should be economical to manufacture on a large scale. According to the authors, the “ultrabroadband absorber membrane opens new approaches for solar energy harvesting and thermoplasmonics applications.” In particular, the technology could be used for solar steam power, steam antibacterial treatment, and seawater desalination. The research was undertaken with support from the United States Air Force’s Asian Office of Aerospace Research and Development (AOARD).