High-performance Janus evaporator based on self-healing hydrogels for salt-rejecting interfacial solar desalination

Abstract

The solar interfacial evaporation is considered as an innovate and promising technology to overcome the water scarcity crisis. However, an army of problems are being presented in evaporator applicate on open water, which formats and deposits of salt crystallization at its surface during long-term evaporation and permanents damage causing by wave impact. In this study, a self-floating and durable Janus interfacial solar evaporator (ISE) based on self-healing hydrogel with salt-rejecting was demonstrated for the efficiency production of clean water. Benefiting from the decrease of water evaporation enthalpy in hydrogel-based ISE, water evaporation rates over 2.096 kg·m−2·h−1 and solar efficiency of 85.50 % are attained under 1 sun. Additionally, the evaporator of Janus structure effectively avoids the format and deposition of salt at photothermal layer, exhibiting positive salt-rejecting and purification in various wastewater for long-term evaporation. What is more, the performance and appearance of self-healing hydrogel-based ISE can be easily restored. An encouraging and cheering Janus evaporator was proved via integrating self-healing and damage-tolerant hydrogels for solar desalination and water purification, which exhibits exciting durability and lifetime.