Advances in solar evaporator materials for freshwater generation

Cao, Sisi; Jiang, Qisheng; Wu, Xuanhao; Ghim, Deoukchen; Derami, Hamed Gholami; Chou, Ping-I; Jun, Young‐Shin; Singamaneni, Srikanth

doi:10.1039/c9ta06034k

Cited by 200 publications

(113 citation statements)

References 180 publications

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“…In this work, our important finding is the effect of enhancing the capillary action with increasing temperature. The obtained results show a high potential of the created wicking material for cooling applications and provide the guidelines for the creation of other high-temperature wicking materials, including metals, ceramics, and polymers needed in such applications as Maisotsenko cycle (M-cycle) technologies [40,41], water steam injection systems for reducing both fuel consumption and NOx emissions of internal combustion engines [42,43], energy harvesting [44][45][46], enhancing the critical heat flux of industrial boilers [47], evaporation-driven engines [48], capillary micromolding [49,50], printed electronics [51], and capillary coatings [50].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 84%

Temperature Effect on Capillary Flow Dynamics in 1D Array of Open Nanotextured Microchannels Produced by Femtosecond Laser on Silicon

Fang

Zhu

et al. 2020

Nanomaterials

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Capillary flow of water in an array of open nanotextured microgrooves fabricated by femtosecond laser processing of silicon is studied as a function of temperature using high-speed video recording. In a temperature range of 23–80 °C, the produced wicking material provides extremely fast liquid flow with a maximum velocity of 37 cm/s in the initial spreading stage prior to visco-inertial regime. The capillary performance of the material enhances with increasing temperature in the inertial, visco-inertial, and partially in Washburn flow regimes. The classic universal Washburn’s regime is observed at all studied temperatures, giving the evidence of its universality at high temperatures as well. The obtained results are of great significance for creating capillary materials for applications in cooling of electronics, energy harvesting, enhancing the critical heat flux of industrial boilers, and Maisotsenko cycle technologies.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 84%

Temperature Effect on Capillary Flow Dynamics in 1D Array of Open Nanotextured Microchannels Produced by Femtosecond Laser on Silicon

Fang

Zhu

et al. 2020

Nanomaterials

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“…Upon solar irradiation, these materials absorb photons from the sunlight for the photoexcitation to occur, where the mobile charge carries are driven by light‐induced electric field, eventually converting the solar energy into heat. [ 40 ] Photothermal conversion mechanism differs in various types of materials as they behave differently in response to the electromagnetic radiation, the sunlight, which is associated with their inherent electronic or bandgap structures. [ 41 ] Generally, it can be categorized into the following: i) localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effect, ii) electron–hole generation and relaxation, and iii) conjugation or hyperconjugation effect.…”

Section: Photothermal Conversion Mechanismmentioning

confidence: 99%

Insights into the Photothermal Conversion of 2D MXene Nanomaterials: Synthesis, Mechanism, and Applications

Liu

et al. 2020

Adv Funct Materials

383

268

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Since their discovery in 2011, 2D transition metal carbide/nitride (MXene) materials have received extensive interest due to their unique planar structure, chemical diversity, and superior physiochemical features. Very recently, MXenes have demonstrated outstanding photothermal conversion by virtue of excellent electromagnetic wave absorption capacity and a localized surface plasmon resonance effect. Photothermal conversion is an efficient way to utilize solar energy that allows the transformation of solar illumination into thermal energy, thus enabling MXenes to be applied in various fields, such as solar steam generation and biomedicals. However, the light-to-heat capability of MXenes has been paid much less attention until now. Recent progress in photothermal MXenes is reviewed to provide a comprehensive understanding of their photothermal conversion mechanism and applications. First, synthetic strategies of MXenes and their nanocomposites will be briefly summarized, and the discussion of the photothermal conversion mechanism and, most importantly, current advances in their photothermal applications will follow. It is highly anticipated that 2D MXenes, through elaborate material design and interdisciplinary approach, will become one of the mainstream photothermal materials and their application fields will also be expanded in the near future.

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“…It is unimaginable that more than 1.2 billion people are not able to access safe drinking water. [ 1–4 ] To address this problem, various advanced technologies have been developed to obtain potable freshwater from saltwater or even contaminated water. [ 5–8 ] These techniques include reverse osmosis (RO) [ 9– 14 ] and low‐temperature multi‐effect distillation (MED) technology, [ 15,16 ] which are widely used in water purification plants.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Salt Mitigation Strategies of Solar‐Driven Interfacial Desalination

Wang

et al. 2020

Adv Funct Materials

167

102

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Solar‐driven interfacial desalination (SDID), which is based on localized heating and interfacial evaporation, provides an opportunity for developing environmentally friendly and cost‐effective seawater thermal desalination. However, localized heating and rapidly generated interfacial steam may cause salt to accumulate on the evaporator's surface and block the channel of steam evaporation. Salt accumulation inevitably reduces the light absorption and service period of the solar absorber, resulting in a significant decrease in evaporation efficiency over time. Salt accumulation makes it difficult to produce SDID devices with high energy efficiency and long‐term stability for large‐scale use in remote poverty‐stricken areas. Therefore, the exploration of novel and effective strategies for addressing salt accumulation through both material design and structural engineering has attracted more attention in recent years. This review presents an overview of the state‐of‐the‐art advancements in salt‐resistant photothermal evaporation and discusses the critical issues for achieving salt mitigation SDID, focusing on the classification of salt mitigation strategies based on photothermal evaporation configurations, the basic mechanism of salt mitigation, and the architectural design of photothermal materials. Finally, the important challenges and prospects of SDID are discussed to providing a meaningful roadmap to efficient salt mitigation SDID.

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Advances in solar evaporator materials for freshwater generation

Abstract: To alleviate the scarcity of clean water, solar steam generation, which utilizes the green and abundant resources of Earth, has attracted considerable attention and been recognized as a sustainable technology to purify seawater and wastewater.

Cited by 200 publications

References 180 publications

Temperature Effect on Capillary Flow Dynamics in 1D Array of Open Nanotextured Microchannels Produced by Femtosecond Laser on Silicon

Temperature Effect on Capillary Flow Dynamics in 1D Array of Open Nanotextured Microchannels Produced by Femtosecond Laser on Silicon

Insights into the Photothermal Conversion of 2D MXene Nanomaterials: Synthesis, Mechanism, and Applications

Salt Mitigation Strategies of Solar‐Driven Interfacial Desalination

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