Abstract
Freshwater scarcity, one of the most serious global challenges, has threatened the development of society in many regions. Solar-driven interfacial evaporation localizing solar-to-thermal energy conversion at the vapor–liquid interface provides a new approach for seawater desalination. In this work, we reported a high-efficiency porous TiNO solar absorber for a solar-driven interfacial evaporation system. The solar absorber was prepared by depositing a solar absorbing coating of TiNO on air-laid paper. Hydrophilicity and porosity of the absorber provide sufficient capillary force to absorb water to the evaporation region, thus resulting in rapid replenishment of water and simultaneously avoiding salt precipitation. Based on the TiNO solar absorber, the interfacial evaporation system achieves a high evaporation rate of 1.33 kg m−2 h−1 with an evaporation efficiency of 84.05% under 1 sun illumination and has good durability under long-time solar irradiation. Such a low-cost, high-efficiency solar-driven seawater desalination system holds the potential for rapid deployment in remote areas or isolated islands to collect freshwater.
Highlights
To date, freshwater scarcity has become one of the most serious challenging issues as the growing global population and increasing environmental pollution.1,2 In spite of the abundance of water on Earth, the potable freshwater is about 3.5 × 108 m,3 which only accounts for 2.53% of the total global water storage
The TiNO solar absorber as a solar-to-thermal conversion material was placed on top of the whole system, which harvested solar energy and converted it into thermal energy
To achieve continuous and efficient water transport, the outside surface of the PE foam was wrapped by a layer of air-laid paper, which was used as a wicking material to supply water from the bulk water scitation.org/journal/adv to the solar–thermal conversion region
Summary
Freshwater scarcity has become one of the most serious challenging issues as the growing global population and increasing environmental pollution.1,2 In spite of the abundance of water on Earth, the potable freshwater is about 3.5 × 108 m,3 which only accounts for 2.53% of the total global water storage. Porous foam is placed under the solar-to-thermal conversion materials, such as porous silica foam,26 polystyrene foam,38,39 and carbon foam.40 Efficient water supply is another key factor to achieving high solar-driven interfacial evaporation performance.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
