Gold-doped particles could speed up production of safe drinking water 01 Feb 2021 Professional Engineering Researchers including Alexander Kuchmizhak developed the new material, which could accelerate evaporation in desalination plants (Credit: FEFU press office) A new material could accelerate evaporation in desalination plants to speed up production of safe drinking water, its developers have said. Titanium dioxide nanoparticles ‘decorated’ with gold absorb about 96% of the solar spectrum and turn it into heat, said the researchers from the Far Eastern Federal University, Itmo University and the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, who worked with colleagues from Spain, Japan, Bulgaria, and Belarus to develop and test the material. It could make evaporation in desalination plants up to 2.5-times quicker, while also tracking hazardous molecules and compounds.