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Issue 19, 2023

Toward multitasking solar desalination: a Janus and scalable paper evaporator with light trapping, heat confinement, salt resistance, and pollutant degradation

Abstract

Solar-driven evaporators (SDEs) have attracted increasing attention in producing potable freshwater. Developing a multitasking SDE with stable self-floating performance, long-term salt resistance, effective heat management, pollutant degradation capability and good scalability for industrial production is significant but challenging. This work demonstrates the fabrication of a cellulose paper-based SDE with rough photothermal coating, controlled Janus wettability and a hierarchical Fenton catalyst for advanced solar desalination. Through the surface deposition of an urchin-like nanocatalyst and polypyrrole coating, a rough photothermal top layer for enhanced light trapping (98.6%) and a Fenton catalytic bottom layer for in situ pollutant degradation (98.1%) are constructed. Benzophenone-terminated polydimethylsiloxane is designed to realize facile asymmetric photo-grafting on porous paper, which further endows the evaporator with controlled Janus wettability, stable self-floating performance, long-term salt resistance, efficient heat management and rapid water transfer. Benefiting from such advantages, high solar-to-vapor efficiency (95.3%) and evaporation rate (1.88 kg m−2 h−1) are obtained. This cellulose paper-based evaporator also exhibits mechanical flexibility, portability and cost-effectiveness. Furthermore, the preparation process, including simple deposition and cleaner photo-grafting, is feasible and scalable for industrial production. This work provides innovative concepts for developing advanced paper evaporators to realize multitasking solar desalination.

Graphical abstract: Toward multitasking solar desalination: a Janus and scalable paper evaporator with light trapping, heat confinement, salt resistance, and pollutant degradation

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
12 Dec 2022
Accepted
06 Mar 2023
First published
07 Mar 2023

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2023,11, 10287-10296

Toward multitasking solar desalination: a Janus and scalable paper evaporator with light trapping, heat confinement, salt resistance, and pollutant degradation

X. Wang, Z. Li, S. Xing, W. Kuang, C. Dong and Y. Liu, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2023, 11, 10287 DOI: 10.1039/D2TA09653F

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