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Vol. 15 (2023)

Micro–Nano Water Film Enabled High-Performance Interfacial Solar Evaporation

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-023-01191-6
Zhen Yu
State Key Laboratory of Clean Energy Utilization, College of Energy Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, People’s Republic of China
Yuqing Su
State Key Laboratory of Clean Energy Utilization, College of Energy Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, People’s Republic of China
Ruonan Gu
State Key Laboratory of Clean Energy Utilization, College of Energy Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, People’s Republic of China
Wei Wu
State Key Laboratory of Clean Energy Utilization, College of Energy Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, People’s Republic of China
Yangxi Li
State Key Laboratory of Clean Energy Utilization, College of Energy Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, People’s Republic of China
Shaoan Cheng
State Key Laboratory of Clean Energy Utilization, College of Energy Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, People’s Republic of China

Corresponding Author: Shaoan Cheng

shaoancheng@zju.edu.cn

Nano-Micro Letters, Vol. 15 (2023), Article Number: 214

Abstract

Interfacial solar evaporation holds great promise to address the freshwater shortage. However, most interfacial solar evaporators are always filled with water throughout the evaporation process, thus bringing unavoidable heat loss. Herein, we propose a novel interfacial evaporation structure based on the micro–nano water film, which demonstrates significantly improved evaporation performance, as experimentally verified by polypyrrole- and polydopamine-coated polydimethylsiloxane sponge. The 2D evaporator based on the as-prepared sponge realizes an enhanced evaporation rate of 2.18 kg m−2 h−1 under 1 sun by fine-tuning the interfacial micro–nano water film. Then, a homemade device with an enhanced condensation function is engineered for outdoor clean water production. Throughout a continuous test for 40 days, this device demonstrates a high water production rate (WPR) of 15.9–19.4 kg kW−1 h−1 m−2. Based on the outdoor outcomes, we further establish a multi-objective model to assess the global WPR. It is predicted that a 1 m2 device can produce at most 7.8 kg of clean water per day, which could meet the daily drinking water needs of 3 people. Finally, this technology could greatly alleviate the current water and energy crisis through further large-scale applications.


Highlights:
1 Micro–nano water film enhanced interfacial solar evaporator enables a high evaporation rate of 2.18 kg m−2 h−1 under 1 sun.
2 An outdoor device with an enhanced condensation design demonstrates a high water production rate of 15.9–19.4 kg kW−1 h−1 m−2.
3 A multi-objective predictive model is established to assess outdoor water production performance.

Keywords

Micro–nano water film Interfacial solar evaporation Solar desalination Artificial neural networks PPy sponge
Yu, Zhen, Yuqing Su, Ruonan Gu, Wei Wu, Yangxi Li, and Shaoan Cheng. 2023. “Micro–Nano Water Film Enabled High-Performance Interfacial Solar Evaporation”. Nano-Micro Letters 15 (September):214. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-023-01191-6.
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