Solar vapor generation has attracted tremendous attention as one of the most efficient ways of utilizing solar energy. It is highly desirable to develop low-cost, eco-friendly, and high-efficiency solar absorbers for practical applications of solar vapor generation. Herein, a three-dimensional plasmonic covellite CuS hierarchical nanostructure has been synthesized as the light-absorbing material via a facile one-pot hydrothermal method for structurally integrated solar absorbers with microporous poly­(vinylidene fluoride) membrane (PVDFM) as the supporting material. A broadband and highly efficient light absorption has been achieved in the wavelength of 300–2500 nm, along with high water evaporation efficiencies of 90.4 ± 1.1 and 93.3 ± 2.0% under 1 and 4 sun irradiation, respectively. Meanwhile, stable performance has been demonstrated for over 20 consecutive runs without much performance degradation. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest performance among the copper sulfide-based solar absorbers. With the additional features of low-cost and convenient fabrication, this plasmonic solar absorber exhibits a tremendous potential for practical solar vapor generation.

No abstract

A novel plasmonic interfacial evaporator composed of Cu9S5 nanonets and PVDFM has shown high efficiencies of 80.2 ± 0.6% and 91.5 ± 1.1% under 1 and 4 sun irradiation, respectively, for solar vapor generation.

It is well recognized that combining nonpotable water with solar energy to desalinate water and produce water vapor is an effective route to solve the shortage of fresh water. However, the solar vapor generation suffers from either low solar energy efficiency or complex and high-cost devices. Herein, we explore a black membrane based on polypyrrole (PPy) and filter paper to enhance solar-to-vapor conversion performance, thus providing a low-cost, stable, and strong efficient solar vapor generator. This device displays high solarto-vapor conversion efficiencies of up to approximately 92.2% and 95.6% under irradiation of 1 and 4 kW m −2 , respectively. Therefore, this paper-based high solar-to-vapor conversion and scalable evaporator provides a promising solution to the problem of freshwater scarcity and nonrenewable recourses.

Herein, the fluid flow pattern in a continuous casting slab strand with varied degree of clogging of the submerged entry nozzle is measured using nail boards in industrial trials. The influence of clogging on meniscus velocity, top surface position, surface level fluctuation, and slag entrainment of the strand is investigated. The number density and area fraction of nonmetallic inclusions including Na2O and K2O‐bearing entrained slag ones within the subsurface of steel slabs are inspected using an automatic scanning electron microscope (SEM). The flow pattern in the strand periodically transforms from a double roll flow to a complex flow and/or a single roll flow. The fluid field in the continuous casting mold is unstable and asymmetric under the condition of varied degree of clogging with time. The variation of the meniscus velocity and the surface level fluctuation with time is stochastic. The percentage of >3 mm level fluctuation increases from 4.7% to 10.6% with a serious clogging of the submerged entry nozzle. The amount of entrained slag inclusions with serious clogging is approximately 1.6 times than that with slight clogging. In addition, slag entrainment mechanisms of the shear‐layer instability and the vortex formation are discussed.