Experimental research on the evaporation performance of several water-based nanofluids for solar steam generation has been carried out in the current study. Considered nanofluids include graphene nanoplate (GNP), single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT), graphene oxide (GO), multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT), Titanium dioxide (TiO2), Zinc oxide (ZnO), mixed Iron oxide with graphene nanoplate (Fe3O4@GNP) and mixed graphene nanoplates with multi-walled carbon nanotube (GNP@MWCNT). The nanofluids with a mass concentration of 0.004% were prepared to be exposed to 3.5kW/m2 (i.e., 3.5 suns) in a solar simulator. Results illustrate that the light absorption will increase by adding nanoparticles to water which leads to generating vapor bubbles around the nanoparticles and finally solar steam is generated. Therefore, nanofluids are an excellent alternative medium for solar energy harvesting and clean water production. Additionally, the economics and commercial potential of the above nanofluids have been compared. For various nanofluids, the price of producing 1 gram of solar steam per second has been determined. Finally, the findings show that while GNP@MWCNT offers the best rate of evaporation, its cost for producing steam is the highest of all nanofluids. Therefore, less expensive nanoparticles are more cost-effective. If space is not an issue, with having a greater radiation exposure area, less expensive nanoparticles can produce the same quantity of steam.

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