Laser‐Induced Porous Graphene/CuO Composite for Efficient Interfacial Solar Steam Generation

Abstract

Interfacial solar steam generation can produce clean water in an environmentally friendly and efficient way. The evaporator employing graphene as a photothermal conversion material represents an excellent paradigm within the realm of interfacial evaporators. However, existing graphene materials exhibit a certain degree of hydrophobicity and are associated with intricate manufacturing processes. Hence, the study proposes a hydrophilic composite graphene‐based material incorporating CuO, which is fabricated through a straightforward laser‐induced graphene synthesis method directly onto a polyimide film coated with CuCl2. Due to the fast capillary performance endowed by the enhanced hydrophilicity and hierarchical structural morphology, the assembled laser‐induced‐graphene evaporator achieves an evaporation rate of 2.54 kg m−2 h−1 under 1 sun irradiation with an evaporation efficiency of 91.1%, while also demonstrating excellent desalination capabilities. The as‐prepared graphene‐based evaporator has significant potential for desalination and wastewater treatment applications, offering an effective solution to address clean water challenges in remote areas.