MXene Sediment-Based Poly(vinyl alcohol)/Sodium Alginate Aerogel Evaporator with Vertically Aligned Channels for Highly Efficient Solar Steam Generation.

Solar-driven interfacial evaporation from seawater is considered an effective way to alleviate the emerging freshwater crisis because of its green and environmentally friendly characteristics. However, developing an evaporator with high efficiency, stability, and salt resistance remains a key challenge. MXene, with an internal photothermal conversion efficiency of 100%, has received tremendous research interest as a photothermal material. However, the process to prepare the MXene with monolayer is inefficient and generates a large amount of "waste" MXene sediments (MS). Here, MXene sediments is selected as the photothermal material, and a three-dimensional MXene sediments/poly(vinyl alcohol)/sodium alginate aerogel evaporator with vertically aligned pores by directional freezing method is innovatively designed. The vertical porous structure enables the evaporator to improve water transport, light capture, and high evaporation rate. Cotton swabs and polypropylene are used as the water channel and support, respectively, thus fabricating a self-floating evaporator. The evaporator exhibits an evaporation rate of 3.6 kg m-2 h-1 under one-sun illumination, and 18.37 kg m-2 of freshwater is collected in the condensation collection device after 7 h of outdoor sun irradiation. The evaporator also displays excellent oil and salt resistance. This research fully utilizes "waste" MS, enabling a self-floating evaporation device for freshwater collection.

Wang T ，Li M ，Xu H ，Wang X ，Jia M ，Hou X ，Gao S ，Liu Q ，Yang Q ，Tian M ，Qu L ，Song Z ，Wu X ，Wang L ，Zhang X ... -  《-》

Multifunctional Super-Hydrophilic MXene/Biomass Composite Aerogel Evaporator for Efficient Solar-Driven Desalination and Wastewater Treatment.

Chen S ，Zheng D ，Cen Q ，Yoo CG ，Zhong L ，Yang D ，Qiu X ... -  《-》

Highly efficient MoS(2)/MXene aerogel for interfacial solar steam generation and wastewater treatment.

Interfacial solar steam generation using aerogels holds great promise for seawater desalination and wastewater treatment. However, to achieve aerogels with both durable, high-efficiency evaporation performance and excellent salt resistance remains challenging. Here, a molybdenum disulphide (MoS2) and MXene composite aerogel with vertical pore channels is reported, which has outstanding advantages in mechanical properties, water transportation, photothermal conversion, and recycling stability. Benefiting from the plasmon resonance effect of MXene and the excellent photothermal conversion performance of MoS2, the aerogel exhibits excellent light absorption (96.58 %). The aerogel is resistant to deformation and able to rebound after water absorption, because of the support of an ordered vertical structure. Moreover, combined with the low water evaporation enthalpy, low thermal conductivity, and super hydrophilicity, the aerogel achieves an efficient and stable evaporation rate of about 2.75 kg m-2h-1 under one sun and exhibits excellent self-cleaning ability. Notably, the evaporator achieves removal rates of 99.9 % for heavy metal ions and 100 % for organic dyes, which has great potential in applications including seawater desalination and wastewater purification.

Yang Z ，Wei N ，Xue N ，Xu R ，Yang E ，Wang F ，Zhu H ，Cui H ... -  《-》

Tailorable Lignocellulose-Based Aerogel to Achieve the Balance between Evaporation Enthalpy and Water Transport Rate for Efficient Solar Evaporation.

Li Z ，Zhang Y ，Huang Q ，Chen Z ，Wang W ，Li W ... -  《-》

Bioinspired Aerogel with Vertically Ordered Channels and Low Water Evaporation Enthalpy for High-Efficiency Salt-Rejecting Solar Seawater Desalination and Wastewater Purification.

Solar energy-driven water evaporation is a promising sustainable strategy to purify seawater and contaminated water. However, developing solar evaporators with high water evaporation rates and excellent salt resistance still faces a great challenge. Herein, inspired by the long-range ordered structure and water transportation capability of lotus stem, a biomimetic aerogel with vertically ordered channels and low water evaporation enthalpy for high-efficiency solar energy-driven salt-resistant seawater desalination and wastewater purification is developed. The biomimetic aerogel consists of ultralong hydroxyapatite nanowires as heat-insulating skeletons, polydopamine-modified MXene as a photothermal material with broadband sunlight absorption and high photothermal conversion efficiency, polyacrylamide, and polyvinyl alcohol as reagents to lower the water evaporation enthalpy and as glues to enhance the mechanical performance. The honeycomb porous structure, unidirectionally aligned microchannels, and nanowire/nanosheet/polymer pore wall endow the biomimetic aerogel with excellent mechanical properties, rapid water transportation, and excellent solar water evaporation performance. The biomimetic aerogel exhibits a high water evaporation rate (2.62 kg m-2  h-1 ) and energy efficiency (93.6%) under one sun irradiation. The superior salt-rejecting ability of the designed water evaporator enables stable and continuous seawater desalination, which is promising for application in water purification to mitigate the global water crisis.

Wang ZY ，Zhu YJ ，Chen YQ ，Yu HP ，Xiong ZC ... -  《-》