Nanoclay Hybridized Graphene Aerogels Encapsulating Phase Change Material for Efficient Solar-Driven Desalination and Electricity Generation

The utilization of graphene aerogel encapsulated phase change materials (PCMs) presents a promising strategy to achieve solar-thermal energy conversion and storage. However, the self-stacking effect and inherent lattice defects in graphene aerogel significantly restrict its overall performance in the encapsulation of PCMs. Herein, interfacially self-assembled amino-attapulgite/graphene hybrid aerogels (GNA) are prepared via inspired by the mortise-tenon structure. Thanks to the structural regulation of the graphene aerogel by the amino-attapulgite nanofibers, the hybrid aerogels establish a continuous heat transfer pathway inside and ensure stable encapsulation of PCMs. The solar-driven shape-stabilized composite PCMs (LA/GNAb) based on GNAb impregnated with lauric acid (LA), which achieves coordinated enhancement of the effective encapsulation rate for LA (93.1%), thermal conductivity (1.164 W m −1 K −1 ), and photothermal conversion capability (90.5%). Drawing upon the photothermal conversion and thermal storage properties of LA/GNAb, this study demonstrates its advanced applications in solar-driven desalination and solar-thermoelectric generation. The evaporator and generator with integrated LA/GNAb show a high evaporation rate of 2.13 kg m −2 h −1 and a stable power density of 1.57 W m −2 under 1-sun irradiation, respectively, which can sustain additional operating time even under the dark. This work provides new insight into the design of multifunctional solar-driven thermal interfacial materials.