Journal of Materials Chemistry A
·
2019
·Vol. 7
·期 12
·6963-6971
·
IF 10.733
Xiangcheng Zhang,Xiaoning Wang,Winston Duo Wu,Xiao Dong Chen,Zhangxiong Wu
Solar-driven water evaporation is a promising approach to capture solar energy for pure water production. Optimization of the composition and structure of photothermal materials is decisive for performance upgradation. Herein, we demonstrate the exploration of self-floating monodisperse microparticles with a nano-engineered surface composition and structure for highly efficient solar water evaporation. The monodisperse microparticles integrating multifunctional entities are assembled by a fast and scalable aerosol-assisted evaporation-induced self-assembly approach. The ultrafast drying process drives the formation of novel surface compositional and structural features. The microparticles possess micro-wrinkled and water-proof surfaces and large hollow cavities, and can thus stably self-float on water. In the microparticles, the surface-enriched Cu nanoparticles within the carbon decorated oxygen-vacancy-rich TiO2 matrix can absorb broadband solar light with high solar thermal conversion. The SiO2 component as a thermal insulator reduces heat loss. The wrinkled surfaces and inter-particle voids provide large interfacial areas and unique micro-channels for water heating and evaporation. Under the illumination of one sun, a self-floating monolayer of these microparticles delivers an excellent and stable water evaporation rate of 1.5 kg m−2 h−1, a record high mass specific evaporation rate of 30.0 kg m−2 h−1 g−1 and a high energy efficiency of 92.2%. Several parameters having an influence on performance are elucidated, confirming that microparticles with well-designed structures and compositions are attractive for solar-driven water evaporation.
研究领域:
材料科学
·
能源科学
·
环境科学
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
APPLIED SURFACE SCIENCE
·
2025
·
IF 6.9
Zhenxiang Liu,Qi Deng,Lixia Long,Shiwei Chen,Yiming Lu,Jinyv Zhang,Chaofeng Zhu,Haifeng Zhou,Yong Huang,Yanzhao Yang
Photothermal evaporation technology can effectively separate pure water from seawater or wastewater, but there are various pollutants in the treatment area. The pollutants not only cause a threat to the environment and biological health, but also block the vapor escape channels inside the absorbent body. Based on this background, this study designs and constructs a dual functional absorber for solar water evaporation and photocatalysis. A superhydrophilic polyimide/carbon quantum dots aerogel (H-PI/CQDs) is prepared. CQDs increase visible light absorption of the aerogels and improve visible-light photocatalytic degradation performance effectively. The photocatalytic degradation mechanism under visible light is proposed. Remarkably, H-PI/CQDs can achieve self-floating and provide continuous and stable water supply during water evaporation. Under the illumination of the sun, the rate of water evaporation is up to 1.59 kg m −2 h −1 . This study successfully achieves water evaporation and photocatalytic degradation, providing a promising method to obtain clean water and prevent environmental pollution.
研究领域:
材料科学
·
环境功能材料
·
光催化
·
能源与可持续发展
·
纳米复合材料
·
水处理技术
✓ 已验证
产品关联
DOI
高影响因子
Advanced Composites and Hybrid Materials
·
2024
·Vol. 7
·期 2
·1-14
·
IF 23.2
Li Wei,Li Tiantian,Deng Boyan,Xu Ting,Wang Guanhua,Hu Weicheng,Si Chuanling
Desalination with solar-driven photothermal evaporator is extremely attractive for tackling the current freshwater shortage of humanity, and a scalable and efficient interfacial solar evaporator is thus highly desirable. In this work, a facile low-cost Janus evaporator with excellent evaporation performance and energy conversion performance was fabricated from potassium hydroxide (KOH)–activated lignin-based carbon (KLC) and commercial melamine foam (MF). The KLC with rich and multiple microscale/nanoscale pores presented high light absorption (90%) and excellent photothermal conversion capacity (up to 60.4 °C) in the full solar spectrum (200–2500 nm). Subsequently, the KLC was simply coated on the upper surface of MF to obtain the self-floating Janus KLC/MF evaporator. The hydrophilic nature and the porous structure of MF ensured sufficient water supply to the evaporation interface and facilitated effective diffusion of water vapor. The solar steam generation test revealed that the water evaporation rate of the Janus KLC/MF under simulated sunlight was 1.539 kg m −2 h −1 , with a superior photothermal conversion efficiency of 95.88%, which is higher than previously reported melamine-framed evaporators. Moreover, the evaporator has an excellent recycling ability and shows a stable water evaporation rate, indicating preferable durability in practical desalination. Overall, this work demonstrates the great potential of using low-cost lignin as a feedstock for the preparation of solar-driven interfacial evaporation systems integrating multiple functionalities for clean water production and thus offers a viable strategy for the application of lignin-based functional materials.
研究领域:
可再生能源
·
材料科学
·
环境工程
·
纳米技术
·
化学工程
✓ 已验证
DOI
高影响因子
ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
·
2024
·
IF 18.5
Tingting Zhang,Jin Qu,Jing Wu,Fan-Zhen Jiao,Changjun Li,Fu-Lin Gao,Ji Liu,Zhong-Zhen Yu,Xiaofeng Li
Solar-driven steam generation has emerged as a sustainable technology for addressing freshwater scarcity. However, significant challenges still exist in developing high-performance, multifunctional evaporators that are adept at both efficiently evaporating water and degrading pollutants, primarily because of the trade-offs among functional designs. Here, a self-floating solar evaporator is reported by functionalizing balsa wood with solar-thermal conversion material carbon nanotubes and catalytic manganese dioxide (MnO 2 ) nanoflowers for simultaneous solar evaporation and pollutant degradation. MnO 2 nanoflowers are rich in oxygen vacancies that can effectively activate peroxymonosulfate to generate reactive oxygen species for efficient organic pollutant degradation. A distinctive non-wetted porous interior structure and a precisely targeted water pathway are spontaneously established in the multifunctional evaporator, ensuring fast water supply, thermal insulation, efficient mass transfer, and high buoyancy. The resulting evaporators successfully combine an impressive evaporation rate of 2.74 kg m −2 h −1 , a high pollutant degradation efficiency (98.3% for 100 mg L −1 tetracycline and 97.4% for 200 mg L −1 Methyl orange), and stable self-floating and self-standing capabilities that ensure long-term operation stability even in complex real-world environments. This work provides an approach to design multifunctional solar evaporators, ensuring strong alignment with practical requirements while expanding their potential application scenarios.
研究领域:
材料科学
·
环境工程
·
可持续能源
·
水处理
✓ 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）