Integrated Evaporator for Efficient Solar-Driven Interfacial Steam Generation

Nano Letters
Jinxing ChenYadong Yin

Abstract

Solar-driven interfacial steam generation is a promising technique for clean water production because it can minimize thermal loss by localizing solar-to-heat conversion at the air/liquid interface. Here we report an integrated solar evaporator by partially growing 2D polypyrrole microsheets within a melamine foam through chemical vapor polymerization. These microsheets can induce multiple light reflections within the foam, enable omnidirectional light absorption, provide abundant surfaces to promote heat transfer, and achieve spatially defined hydrophobicity to facilitate vapor escape. Meanwhile, the inherent hydrophilicity of the bottom part of the foam promotes spontaneous upward water transport and suppresses heat loss. The composite foam exhibits an excellent apparent evaporation rate of ∼2 kg/(m2·h) and solar-to-vapor efficiency of ∼91%. The combined advantages of large surface area, high efficiency, low cost, all-weather application, excellent durability, and scalable manufacturing make our integrated design promising for fabricating large-scale solar steam generation systems that are suitable for practical clean water production.

References

Jun 25, 2014·Nano Letters·Nathaniel J HoganNaomi J Halas
Jul 22, 2014·Nature Communications·Hadi GhasemiGang Chen
Nov 20, 2014·Advanced Materials·Le HeYadong Yin
Jun 15, 2016·Advanced Materials·Xu Hou
Nov 23, 2016·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Xiuqiang LiJia Zhu
May 19, 2017·Advanced Materials·Ning XuJia Zhu
Apr 4, 2018·Nature Nanotechnology·Fei ZhaoGuihua Yu
Jan 15, 2018·Global Challenges·Van-Duong Dao, Ho-Suk Choi
Oct 22, 2019·Accounts of Chemical Research·Xingyi ZhouGuihua Yu
Nov 7, 2019·Nature Nanotechnology·Xiaoshi QianXimin He

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