Sunlight-driven interfacial photothermal evaporation
has been considered
as a promising strategy for addressing global water crisis. Herein,
we fabricated a self-floating porous triple-layer (CSG@ZFG) evaporator
using porous fibrous carbon derived from Saccharum
spontaneum (CS) as a photothermal material. The middle
layer of the evaporator is composed of hydrophilic sodium alginate
crosslinked by carboxymethyl cellulose and zinc ferrite (ZFG), whereas
the top hydrophobic layer consists of fibrous (CS) integrated benzaldehyde-modified
chitosan gel (CSG). Water is transported to the middle layer through
the bottom elastic polyethylene foam using natural jute fiber. Such
a strategically designed three-layered evaporator exhibits a broad-band
light absorbance (96%), excellent hydrophobicity (120.5°), a
high evaporation rate of 1.56 kg m–2 h–1, an energy efficiency of 86%, and outstanding salt mitigation ability
under the simulated sunlight of intensity 1 sun. Adding ZnFe2O4 nanoparticle as a photocatalyst has been proved to
be capable of restricting the evaporation of volatile organic contaminants
(VOCs) like phenol, 4-nitrophenol, and nitrobenzene to ensure the
purity of evaporated water. Such an innovatively designed evaporator
offers a promising approach for the production of drinking water from
wastewater and seawater.
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