Designing Janus ZrC@fabric-based evaporator through weaving craft for stable solar interfacial desalination

Abstract

Solar interfacial evaporation is a promising pathway for freshwater via utilizing solar energy. Zirconium carbide (ZrC) with a strong sunlight absorption is a promising photothermal material for solar-driven interfacial evaporation. Here, we design the ZrC decorated cotton yarn (ZrC@ cotton yarn) via a dip-coating method and demonstrate Janus ZrC@fabric via traditional weaving craft for stable solar desalination. In the ZrC@fabric-based evaporator, the upper ZrC@ cotton yarn realizes a strong sunlight absorption (>95 %). The lower hydrophilic cotton yarn as water paths facilitates efficient water transport for evaporation. We observed that this Janus ZrC@fabric-based evaporator demonstrates a high evaporation rate (1.41 kg m−2 h−1) under 1-sun illumination and anti-salt clogging during prolonged desalination.