Biomimetic polyaryl ether-based aerogels for efficient interfacial solar water vapor generation

Abstract

There is an urgent need to design efficient photothermal layer, continuous water migration pathways, and stable insulation layer to simultaneously achieve ideal water and heat management in solar-powered interfacial evaporation systems. Here, we assemble into a biomimetic aerogel with down-feather-like shape by first introducing rigid polyaryl ether material of sulphonated poly (phthalazinone ether sulfone ketone) (SPPESK) for highly efficient and multifunctional solar interfacial evaporation drawing inspiration from the cavity structure and insulation strategy of the eagle wings. The biomimetic aerogel has an evaporation rate of 2.34 kg m−2h−1 at one solar irradiance, an energy efficiency of 91.7 %, and an output voltage of 316.7 mV when coated. The insights provided by this work into biomimetic structure displayed by chitosan/SPPESK/Mxene aerogels promise to translate photothermal conversion performance benefits measured in laboratories into real-world applications for continuous desalination and wastewater purification. We anticipate that our work is a starting point to utilize the full potential of photothermal properties of polyaryl ether-based materials.