Integrated Evaporator for Efficient Solar-Driven Interfacial Steam Generation

Chen, Jinxing; Li, Bo; Hu, Guoxiang; Aleisa, Rashed; Lei, Shan; Yang, Fan; Liu, Dilong; Lyu, Fenglei; Wang, Mozhen; Ge, Xuewu; Qian, Fang; Zhang, Qiao; Yin, Yadong

doi:10.1021/acs.nanolett.0c01999

Integrated Evaporator for Efficient Solar-Driven Interfacial Steam Generation

Journal Article · Mon Jul 20 00:00:00 UTC 2020 · Nano Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.0c01999· OSTI ID:1639101

Chen, Jinxing ^[1]; Li, Bo ^[2]; Hu, Guoxiang ^[3]; Aleisa, Rashed ^[2]; Lei, Shan ^[4]; Yang, Fan ^[2]; Liu, Dilong ^[2]; ^[5]; ^[4]; Ge, Xuewu ^[4]; ^[6]; ^[7]; ^[2]

Soochow University, Jiangsu (China); University of California, Riverside, CA (United States); University of Science and Technology of China, Anhui (China); University of California, Riverside
University of California, Riverside, CA (United States)
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
University of Science and Technology of China, Anhui (China)
Soochow University, Jiangsu (China)
Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu (China)

Solar-driven interfacial steam generation is a promising technique for clean water production as it can minimize thermal loss by localizing solar-to-heat conversion at the air/liquid interface. Here we report an integrated solar-evaporator by partially growing two-dimensional polypyrrole microsheets within a melamine foam through chemical vapor polymerization. These microsheets can induce multiple light reflections within the foam, enable omnidirectional light absorption, provide abundant surfaces to promote heat transfer, and achieve spatially-defined hydrophobicity to facilitate vapor escape. Meanwhile, the inherent hydrophilicity of the bottom part of the foam promotes spontaneous upward water transport and suppresses heat loss. The composite foam exhibits an excellent apparent evaporation rate of ~2 kg/(m²·h) and solar-to-vapor efficiency of ~91%. Here, the combined advantages of large surface area, high efficiency, low cost, all weather application, excellent durability, and scalable manufacturing make our integrated design promising for fabricating large-scale solar steam generation systems that are suitable for practical clean water production.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Univ. of California, Riverside, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: AC52-07NA27344

OSTI ID:: 1639101

Journal Information:: Nano Letters, Journal Name: Nano Letters Journal Issue: 8 Vol. 20; ISSN 1530-6992; ISSN 1530-6984

Publisher:: American Chemical SocietyCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
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Integrated Evaporator for Efficient Solar-Driven Interfacial Steam Generation

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