Nanoscale
·
2020
·Vol. 12
·期 12
·6717-6728
·
IF 6.895
Dong-Dong Qin,Ying-Jie Zhu,Ri-Long Yang,Zhi-Chao Xiong
Solar energy-driven interfacial water evaporation is a promising energy utilization technology in the field of seawater desalination and water purification. However, the accumulation of salt on the heating surface severely impairs the water evaporation performance and long-time stability. Herein, we demonstrate a new kind of photothermal paper comprising a high-temperature-resistant paper made from ultralong hydroxyapatite nanowires and glass fibers and black nickel oxide (NiO) nanoparticles for solar energy-driven desalination. Owing to the high photothermal conversion ability, fast water transportation in the air-laid paper, and good heat insulation, the hydrophilic HN/NiO photothermal paper can achieve efficient, stable and recyclable water evaporation performance. In addition, a Janus HN/NiO photothermal paper based on hydrophobic sodium oleate-modified ultralong hydroxyapatite nanowires has been developed, and it has a high water evaporation efficiency of 83.5% under 1 kW m−2 irradiation. In particular, with the bottom hydrophobic ultralong hydroxyapatite nanowire layer and water-transporting channels in the air-laid paper to facilitate salt exchange, the as-prepared Janus evaporator exhibits no salt accumulation on the surface, high performance and long-time stable desalination using simulated seawater (3.5 wt% NaCl). Furthermore, the Janus evaporator with the hydrophobic ultralong hydroxyapatite nanowire substrate can be extended to support other photothermal materials such as black titanium oxide (Ti2O3) and Ketjen black carbon. The as-prepared Janus HN/Ti2O3 and Janus HN/KB photothermal paper also exhibit salt-resistant desalination function. The as-prepared Janus salt-resistant photothermal paper with efficient, stable and recyclable merits has great potential in solar energy-driven desalination and water purification.
研究领域:
材料科学
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环境科学
·
能源科学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
DESALINATION
·
2023
·
IF 9.9
Xinfei Fan,Yanling Peng,Bowen Lv,Yi Yang,Zaijin You,Chengwen Song,Yuanlu Xu
Solar-driven interfacial evaporation is an emerging alternative for alleviating the water crisis due to its sustainability and eco-friendly, but it still required efficient strategies to address the major obstacle of salt accumulation during high-rate evaporation processes. Herein, a spatial solar evaporation device with hydrogel-based evaporator and 3D printing module was fabricated to achieve excellent evaporation performance based on siphon phenomenon, in which carbon nanotubes were used as light absorber and coated on cotton fabrics via polyvinyl alcohol as binder. The 3D evaporator structure captured ambient energy efficiently to accelerate water vaporization. Coupling with the low evaporation enthalpy of intermediate water in PVA-hydrogel matrix, the evaporator exhibited fascinating evaporation rate of 4.55 ± 0.06 kg m −2 h −1 in siphon mode under 1.0 sun, which was ~3.2 times and ~1.8 times higher than the 2D floating and 2.5D hanging mode. Moreover, the design of siphon effect prevented the salt accumulation on the spatial evaporation device. Even for 20.0 wt% brine, there was no salt precipitating on the evaporator surface during a long-term evaporation (8 h), demonstrating the excellent stability and durability. In addition, the concentrated brine can be separated from the feed timely, avoiding the declined evaporation performance from increased feed salinity .
研究领域:
材料科学
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环境科学
·
能源工程
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
Journal of Materials Chemistry A
·
2023
·Vol. 11
·期 12
·6248-6257
·
IF 11.9
Jiaming Sun,Rui Teng,Jia Tan,Mingcong Xu,Chunhui Ma,Wei Li,Shouxin Liu
Optimizing the structural design of solar-powered evaporators is an effective way to improve evaporation performance, but simplifying their design remains challenging. The balance between continuous water supply and thermal conductivity aggravated by hydrophilicity also needs to be solved. This work details an integrated cellulose aerogel based on a hierarchical coordinated control strategy. The Fe3O4-decorated photothermal conversion layer provides a solar radiation absorbance of 97%, while hollow hydrophobic glass bubbles (GBs) anchored in the insulation layer prevent the intrusion of water and provide the aerogel in wet state with a low thermal conductivity of 0.1008 W m−1 K−1. A hydrophilic polyvinyl alcohol/cellulose skeleton ensures uninterrupted water transport while preventing salt accumulation. The synergistic effect obtained by increasing the depinning force at the contact line from GB-anchored heterogeneous vessel walls, adjusting the water states in the hydrophilic skeleton, and confining bulk water in a porous structure greatly reduces the enthalpy of evaporation to 949 J g−1. The integration of all these functions provides a single-module evaporator with a high evaporation rate of 3.17 kg h−1 m−2. The combination of improved thermal management, reduced enthalpy of vaporization and excellent salt resistance provides an effective water purification system with facile fabrication and low cost of maintenance.
研究领域:
材料科学
·
环境科学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
DESALINATION
·
2025
·
IF 9.8
Shengqin Dai,Xiaoying Feng,Xiaoyi Wang,Jiyan Li,Weidong Liang
Solar thermal-driven interfacial evaporation technology holds significant promise for applications in sewage purification and desalination. However, challenges such as intermittent solar illumination and salt accumulation hinder its practical effectiveness. In this study, phase change materials (PCMs) were introduced to enhance the evaporation efficiency of evaporator under weak sunlight conditions. Specifically, stearic acid serves as a PCM, conductive carbon black (KBC) as a photothermal material, while chitosan and microcrystalline cellulose(MCC) are utilized as matrix materials. SA was encapsulated in a microgel derived from CS using a vacuum impregnation technique, and KBC/SA was synthesized via a bidirectional regeneration method. Experimental results reveal that the evaporation rate can reach 3.46 kg m −2 h −1 under a light intensity of 1 kW m −2 . With the light source off, the KBC/SA evaporator still sustains an evaporation rate of 1.53 kg m −2 h −1 . On semi-cloudy days, the latent heat released from SA supplies substantial thermal energy, enabling continuous evaporation and increasing total water production by 1.85 kg m −2 compared to the conventional evaporators without PCMs. In addition, the evaporation rate of the solar evaporator in 20 % salt solution can reach 2.98 kg·m −2 ·h −1 , which is only slightly different from that in pure water solution. This study presents an effective strategy to address the intermittent use of solar energy and mitigate salt accumulation in solar-powered seawater desalination systems that employ interfacial evaporation.
研究领域:
材料科学
·
环境科学
·
能源科学
✓ 已验证
DOI
高影响因子
Gels
·
2025
·Vol. 11
·期 5
·368
·
IF 5.3
Junjie Liao,Luyang Hu,Haoran Wang,Zhe Yang,Xiaonan Wu,Yumin Zhang
Solar-driven interfacial evaporation has emerged as a sustainable and highly efficient technology for seawater desalination, attracting considerable attention for its potential to address global water scarcity. However, challenges such as low evaporation rates and salt accumulation significantly hinder the performance and operational lifespan of evaporators. Here, we present an innovative Janus-structured evaporator featuring distinct operational mechanisms through the integration of a hydrophobic PVDF-HFP@PPy photothermal membrane and a hydrophilic PVA-CF@TA-Fe3+hydrogel, coupled with a unidirectional flow configuration. Distinct from conventional Janus evaporators that depend on interfacial water transport through asymmetric layers, our design achieves two pivotal innovations: (1) the integration of a lateral fluid flow path with the Janus architecture to enable sustained brine replenishment and salt rejection and (2) the creation of dual vapor escape pathways (hydrophobic and hydrophilic layers) synergized with hydrogel-mediated water activation to elevate evaporation kinetics. Under 1 sun illumination, the evaporator achieves a maximum evaporation rate of 2.26 kg m−2h−1with a photothermal efficiency of 84.6%, in both unidirectional flow and suspension modes. Notably, the evaporation performance remains stable across a range of saline conditions, demonstrating remarkable resistance to salt accumulation. Even during continuous evaporation of highly saline water (10% brine), the evaporator maintains an evaporation rate of 2.10 kg m−2h−1without observable salt precipitation. The dual anti-salt strategies—enabled by the Janus structure and unidirectional flow design—underscore the evaporator’s capability for sustained high performance and long-term stability in saline environments. These findings provide valuable insights into the development of next-generation solar evaporators that deliver high performance, long-term stability, and robustness in saline and hypersaline environments.
研究领域:
材料科学
·
环境科学
·
能源科学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
PubMed
高影响因子
SEPARATION AND PURIFICATION TECHNOLOGY
·
2025
·
IF 9
Can Chen,Zheng Zhang,Pengyu Chen,Jiguang Huang,Heng Zhang,Dan Gao,Tao Li,Haiping Chen
Solar-interfacial evaporation has shown great potential for desalination using green energy. However, salt accumulation and long-term stability of the evaporators are urgent problems. Here, we designed a ceramic interfacial evaporator using black glaze and coal fly ash (CFA) with durability and technological maturity characteristics. A porous CFA ceramic substrate was prepared by the dry pressing method, and the black glaze was coated on the surface as a photothermal material. The thermal conductivity and porosity of the CFA ceramic are 0.564 W·m −1 K −1 and 40 %, respectively. The average evaporation rate was 1.443 kg·m −2 h −1 under one sun. Outdoor solar desalination experiments were conducted. The highest evaporation rate was 2.949 kg·m −2 h −1 under natural sunlight. The ceramic evaporator showed good salt resistance during two days of continuous desalination experiments. This work highlights the feasibility of using CFA-based ceramic evaporators for efficient solar-driven seawater desalination.
研究领域:
材料科学
·
环境科学
·
能源工程
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
·
2021
·
IF 13.273
Ningning Cao,Songtao Lu,Yuan Yao,Chenxi Liu,Peng Zhang,Qiyang Xiong,Yang Li,Xiaohong Wu
Direct solar steam generation (DSSG) is well-proven to be a sustainable and effective technique to provide high-quality freshwater supply. However, it customarily suffers from severe salt accumulation, especially for treating strong brine, becoming a fatal bottleneck for approaching its commercial applications. Herein, we developed a DSSG with potent siphon-drop mode to achieve powerful self-absorbing and self-desalting, in which the 3D cone-shaped self-supporting polydopamine and polyethyleneimine co -coated poly(acrylonitrile-styrene-acrylate) (PDA-PEI@ASA) used as photothermal material (PTM). Source water can be spontaneously and continuously pumped to the top of water-evaporating surface of PTM via strong siphon effect, and the top-down active water diffusion on evaporating surface can effectively take the salts away from the system. Such above features give the DSSG real-time antifouling nature and hence address the fatal issue of salt accumulation. Accordingly, when continuously treating a near-saturated brine (20% NaCl) for at least 168 h, no obvious salts deposition can be found with a steady water evaporation rate of ∼2.550 kg m –2 h −1 . This work could help shed novel light on the design of practical DSSG systems toward efficient lasting freshwater extraction, holding great promise for global water scarcity.
研究领域:
环境科学
·
材料科学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
·
2024
·
IF 18.5
Bing Sun,Mengyuan Wu,Xuguang Zhao,Lingfeng Wang,Yuandong Jia,Zhijie Yuan,Haojie Wu,Jibo Diao,Gaohong He,Xiaobin Jiang
Low-temperature differential evaporation constitutes a promising direction for energy-saving desalination. Herein, a novel Janus interfacial structure with well-ordered micro/nanopores is developed. Fabricated Janus interfacial structure can weak the water intermolecular forces and pump water to the hydrophilic–hydrophobic junction. Within well-ordered nanochannels, the increased curvature of the meniscus increases the ratio of thin water layers, thereby enhancing microscale heat transfer at the heated walls; in addition, the smaller nanopores limit the development of microscale vortices at the liquid–gas interface and prevent back mixing of intermediate water at the interface, which possess the nanoscale effect on intensifying the interfacial evaporation. These effects are validated by theoretical and experimental studies. Optimized Janus (20 nm) 95°/25° structure exhibits evaporation fluxes up to 2.4 kg m −2 h −1 at 45 °C (feed side)/25 °C (permeate side, ambient pressure), as the theoretical evaporation enthalpy is only 30% of that for direct evaporation. The unique Janus structure simultaneously inhibits salt accumulation and achieve self-cleaning, thereby maintaining steady performance during 480 h of continuous desalination and 50 cycles of batch operation. This work highlights a promising structural design strategy for separation materials with specific micro/nanoscopic topologies to achieve high performance thermally driven desalination applications.
研究领域:
材料科学
·
热能工程
·
水处理技术
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
SEPARATION AND PURIFICATION TECHNOLOGY
·
2022
·
IF 9.136
Min Wang,Guorong Xu,Zihan An,Ke Xu,Chunhua Qi,Rasel Das,Heli Zhao
Solar vapor generation (SVG) has emerged as a promising technique of harvesting solar energy for producing fresh water from seawater. However, two main problems of insufficient energy utilization and salt accumulation on evaporation surfaces are still challenging issues for the broad application of this technique. In this work, we demonstrate a hierarchically structured bilayer aerogel by in situ deposition of polypyrrole (PPy) inside the top layer of cellulose . The light-absorbing PPy/cellulose composite with three-dimensional (3D) hierarchical structures served to convert solar energy into thermal energy and localize the heat to power the vaporization of water contained in the cellulose network. While the porous and hydrophilic cellulose matrix enabled continuous water transport and replenishment to the upper evaporative layer. Moreover, several microcracks were formed at the PPy/cellulose surface, which assisted vapor escape and salt re-dissolution. As a result, the prepared PPy/cellulose aerogel enabled a high seawater evaporation rate of 1.42 kg m −2 h −1 at energy efficiency of 97.8% under one sun illumination. The SVG system also exhibited highly efficient and stable evaporation performance in seawater without surface salt accumulation over one week.
研究领域:
材料科学
·
能源技术
·
环境工程
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
Journal of Materials Chemistry A
·
2025
·
IF 9.5
Yuhan Lin,Jie Feng,Junjie Li,Qiang Wang,Yi He,Bo Sheng,Chuanyi Wang
The salt accumulation issue still remains a crucial challenge for the practical application of solar interfacial evaporation technology. Although enhancing water flow can promote the reflux of salt to bulk water, it also leads to the increased heat loss. Herein, an elaborate balance between salt resistance and heat localization was achieved over the “phoenix-tail skirt-like” structure solar evaporator by precise regulation of the structural parameter. For the optimal evaporator structure, the water evaporation rate of the simulated seawater under 1 kW·m−2 solar irradiance was 1.75 kg·m−2·h−1, accompanied by a solar-to-vapor energy efficiency of 101% due to additional energy harvest from the environment. Our research provided a new idea for the development of efficient and salt-resistant solar evaporation system.
研究领域:
材料科学
·
能源工程
·
环境科学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
SOLAR ENERGY MATERIALS AND SOLAR CELLS
·
2022
·
IF 7.305
Dongya Li,Hong Zhong
Solar driven steam generation is a typical application of solar energy harvesting for clean water production, which has undergone a long-term development. Up to now, a desirable evaporation efficiency has been achieved in lab-scale via advanced materials and structural design However, to maintain a stable performance for long-term practical application, the simplicity of fabrication process, the cost of the raw material and the salt accumulation issue have to be taken into consideration. Here, this research proposed an efficient solar evaporator based on laser induced graphene (LIG) and the commercialized nickel foam. The nickel foam was preferred as the skeleton of the evaporator coupling with hydrophilic polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) to provide sufficient water pathways with reduced water vaporization enthalpy in the bottom layer of the solar evaporator. In addition, plasmonic antimony doped tin oxide (ATO) nanoparticles were introduced into the porous graphene to further enhance the solar absorption and photothermal conversion. Thus, the 3D evaporator exhibits a high evaporation efficiency of 2.21 kg m −2 h −1 in salt water (20 wt% NaCl) under 1 solar irradiation (1 kw m −2 ). Moreover, the evaporator enables a stable evaporation performance upon the saline water during a 120 h test, with no salt crystals accumulated on the surface of evaporator. It is believed that this work presents a potential simple pathway to design and fabricate a portable and efficient evaporator equipped with efficient LIG nanocomposite as an efficient solar absorber .
研究领域:
材料科学
·
能源工程
·
环境科学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL
·
2024
·
IF 13.3
Ke Shi,Shuangchao Tian,Xing Li,Zhiwei Zhou,Jia Xu,Shicheng Ma,Tianyu Gu,Zedong Lu,Jiawei Ren
Solar-driven interfacial evaporation stands out as a low-energy, environmentally-friendly desalination approach with substantial potential for clean water recovery and resource harvesting. However, the stability of the system is compromised by an undesirable increase in salt accumulation. Herein, we designed a modular structure to separate functional areas. The whole structure contains an evaporator and a collector: the evaporator mainly takes on the function of evaporation and the collector is mainly used for the crystals collection. Operating under one sun illumination, the system attained a high evaporation rate of 2.34 kg m -2 h −1 and a high solar-water evaporation efficiency of 133.19 %. Owing to the replaceable collector, the evaporation system maintained a consistently high evaporation rate even after 240 h of continuous operation, and up to 97 % of the solute was enriched in the collector. Furthermore, we investigated the impact of natural organic matter (NOM) on both evaporation and crystallization within the system. This study provides a new perspective on the design of solar interfacial evaporation and crystallization systems.
研究领域:
环境科学
·
材料科学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
危险品化学品经营许可证（带存储）