Scalable and low-cost fabrication of hydrophobic PVDF/WS(2) porous membrane for highly efficient solar steam generation.

Solar steam generation based on the light-to-heat conversion via photothermal materials has been considered as one of emerged technologies for utilizing solar energy to produce clean water. Here, a hydrophobic PVDF/WS2 porous membrane for highly efficient solar steam generation was prepared by a scalable and low-cost method. The WS2 photothermal materials were fabricated through a simple ball milling, and then a non-solvent induced phase inversion method was used to fabricate the porous PVDF/WS2 membrane. The PVDF/WS2 evaporator could absorb the sunlight of 90.58% from UV to NIR region due to the multiscattering of the porous structure and the synergistic effect of WS2 and seawater. Moreover, the PVDF/WS2 evaporator exhibits the hydrophobic properties. Taking the advantages mentioned above, our evaporator could manifest the evaporation rate of 4.15 kgm-2h-1 with the solar thermal efficiency of 94.2% under 3 sun irradiation, as well as an outstanding durability upon continuous running. Also, the evaporator shows both the excellent seawater desalination and sewage treatment ability. Outdoor experiments illustrate that the evaporator has practical applications under a natural sunlight condition. The numerous advantages of our PVDF/WS2 evaporator, including the high solar-thermal efficiency, the outstanding durability, and the simple and scalable manufacture process, may provide a potential photothermal material for the commercial solar desalination application and wastewater treatment.

Wei N ，Li Z ，Li Q ，Yang E ，Xu R ，Song X ，Sun J ，Dou C ，Tian J ，Cui H ... -  《-》

Three-dimensional self-floating foam composite impregnated with porous carbon and polyaniline for solar steam generation.

A promising approach to resolving insufficient freshwater resources is utilizing solar energy for steam generation. Although various types of photothermal conversion materials have been developed, there are still some obstacles, such as complicated system structure fabrication and low energy utilization, that severely hinder their practical application. Herein, we designed and produced a self-floating porous carbon/polyaniline foam (PCPF) evaporator via impregnating melamine foam with porous carbon generated following the bottom-up pyrolytic method and polyaniline, followed by thermal treatment, for efficient solar steam generation. The PCPF obtained with a porous carbon (PC) to polyaniline (PAN) mass ratio of 3:5 (PCPF-3) exhibited a rich pore structure, good hydrophilicity, low thermal conductivity (0.0413 W m-1 K-1), and excellent light absorption (96.1%). Our results show that, without additional thermal insulators, the evaporation rate of PCPF-3 reached 1.496 kg m-2 h-1, and the photothermal conversion efficiency reached 87.3% under one sun irradiation. Furthermore, it also exhibited good durability and desalination performance. This type of environmentally friendly, low-cost, and stable photothermal conversion material could be used in water treatment and seawater desalination.

Wang K ，Cheng Z ，Li P ，Zheng Y ，Liu Z ，Cui L ，Xu J ，Liu J ... -  《-》

Bio-Derived Photothermal Materials and Evaporators for Sustainable Solar Energy-Driven Water Process.

Ge Y ，Su Z ，Ivan MNAS ，Wang C ，Tsang YH ，Xu S ，Bai G ... -  《-》

Robust, Scalable, and Cost-Effective Surface Carbonized Pulp Foam for Highly Efficient Solar Steam Generation.

Zhang Y ，Deng W ，Wu M ，Liu Z ，Yu G ，Cui Q ，Liu C ，Fatehi P ，Li B ... -  《-》

A bilayer solar evaporator with all-in-one design for efficient seawater desalination.

Bilayer solar evaporator combines high photothermal conversion capacity and low heat loss, has become the new darling in interfacial solar steam generation (ISSG). However, the bilayer structure generally achieved by introducing a photothermal coating on the substrate is not conducive to long-term use due to the poor stability of coating. Herein, a fully biomass-based bilayer evaporator is all-in-one designed, using chitosan (CS) as building blocks and CS derived N, S - doped porous carbon (NSPC) as fillers via pre-freezing and freeze-drying. This facile method could realise the quantitative addition of photothermal materials and controllably regulate the structure of the bilayer evaporator, making the structural optimisation readily available. The optimised evaporator exhibits a remarkable evaporation rate of 2.51 kg m-2h-1. After 1000 times of pressing, it still maintains at 2.42 kg m-2h-1. Additionally, the evaporator displays outstanding long-lasting stability, excellent salt-resistant and degradability. More importantly, a solar desalination device is fabricated for harvesting freshwater outdoor. The daily water production per unit area (4.55 kg) meets the consumption of two adults. This work provides a controllable synthesis strategy of bilayer evaporators for handling global freshwater shortages.

Song C ，Jiang Z ，Gu X ，Li H ，Shi J ... -  《-》