Plasmonic Au-NPs enhanced 3D biogenic foam for solar vapor generation

In this work, we report a 3D biomass foam absorber by uniformly loading plasmonic Au nanoparticles (Au-NPs) on carbonized rice husk porous substrate for solar vapor generation. The organic bubbles were simultaneously used as templates to construct porous channels and as carriers to introduce Au-NPs. Owing to the characteristic plasma heating effects, Au-NPs can be as additional heat spots for vapor generation to enhance the solar-thermal conversion effect at visible waves. The 3D porous absorber enables convenient water transport and high light absorption of ~ 94.6%. The solar vapor evaporation efficiency is ~ 84% in pure water and ~ 75% in 15 wt% NaCl solution under 1 kW m −2 .