Simultaneously achieving thermal insulation and rapid water transport in sugarcane stems for efficient solar steam generation

Liu, Jie; Liu, Qinglei; Ma, Dongling; Yang, Yuan; Yao, Jiahao; Zhang, Wang; Su, Huilan; Su, Yishi; Gu, Jiajun; Zhang, Di

doi:10.1039/c9ta00843h

Cited by 155 publications

(93 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Among these strategies, interfacial solar steam generation (ISSG) has attracted increasing global attention. [ 5–13 ] As a sustainable source, solar energy is promising in terms of its accessibility and abundance. Clean water can be generated by converting solar energy to heat that in turn distils nonpotable water.…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

“…To achieve the highest conversion efficiency, three attributes for a photothermal material are usually required: 1) rapid water absorption and transport through hydrophilic channels, 2) excellent thermal insulation between the water surface and upper surface of the materials, and 3) full absorption of the solar energy. [ 6 ] An ideal ISSG material should simultaneously possess these three merits to achieve maximized solar‐thermal efficiency. Considering the applications in water purification industries, low costs, high abundance, and high accessibility are also necessary for the ISSG materials.…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Researchers have succeeded in transforming stems or similar sections of various plants into novel photothermal materials. [ 6,10,29 ] For example, under 1 kW m −2 irradiation, Xue et al. devised surface carbonized (SC)‐wood with a ≈72% solar‐thermal efficiency; [ 30 ] Xu et al.…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

“…surface‐carbonized sugarcane and reached a solar‐thermal efficiency of 87.4%. [ 6 ] The successes of these materials mainly rely on their microscopic biostructures, such as SC‐wood and SC‐sugarcane' vascular bundles for water transport and SC‐sugarcane's parenchyma cells for thermal insulation. More importantly, well‐designed macroscopic structures can also boost the ISSG properties.…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

“…With a cellulose‐based, fiber‐reinforced microstructure, bamboos show excellent mechanical properties. [ 32 ] The parenchyma cells (Figure 2f,i) commonly existing in the stems of other Poaceae plants (e.g., sugarcane) [ 6 ] work as closed microair‐chambers. These structures promote SC‐bamboo's thermal insulation in addition to bamboo's unique hollow internodes (Figure 2c).…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

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Surface‐Carbonized Bamboos with Multilevel Functional Biostructures Deliver High Photothermal Water Evaporation Performance

Liu

Yao

Yang

et al. 2020

Advanced Sustainable Systems

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Interfacial solar steam generation (ISSG) has attracted global attention as an important approach for water purification and desalination. The related photothermal materials based on 3D biostructures are promising due to their abundance and easy accessibility. Here, it is shown that surface‐carbonized bamboo (SC‐bamboo) as a photothermal material exhibits outstanding ISSG performance due to its multilevel functional biostructures. On a microscopic scale, the bamboo's air‐filled parenchyma cells promote thermal insulation while its vascular bundles ensure rapid water transport. On a macroscopic scale, a unique concave structure at the bamboo nodes concentrates water and heat in a confined region and the air‐filled hollow chambers in bamboo internodes also ensure thermal insulation. These multilevel functional structures of SC‐bamboo result in a solar‐thermal conversion efficiency up to 93.63% ± 1.57% under 1 kW m−2 irradiation, surpassing most biomass‐derived materials ever reported. Considering bamboo's low cost and convenience, this work sheds light on the design and fabrication of readily accessible, multilevel functional structure for efficient photothermal‐conversion devices.

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Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Surface‐Carbonized Bamboos with Multilevel Functional Biostructures Deliver High Photothermal Water Evaporation Performance

Liu

Yao

Yang

et al. 2020

Advanced Sustainable Systems

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Biomimetic MXene‐Polyvinyl Alcohol Composite Hydrogel with Vertically Aligned Channels for Highly Efficient Solar Steam Generation

2020

Adv Materials Technologies

107

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Solar steam generation, which utilizes sustainable solar energy to produce fresh water, is regarded as a facile and effective way to solve water scarcity issues. However, challenges remain in terms of inefficient water transfer and vapor release, low solar absorption and conversion efficiency, and hydrophobic photothermal materials. Herein, enlightened by water transport through internal microchannels in trees, a tree‐inspired hydrogel (TIH) with vertically aligned channels incorporating MXene as the light absorber is fabricated. Due to the vertically aligned channels, the rapid transfer of water and unobstructed release of steam can be achieved. Furthermore, water state in molecular meshes can be changed by polymer−water interaction, and partial water can be activated to promote water evaporation. Excellent internal photothermal conversion efficiency and hydrophilicity of MXene are also conducive to evaporation. As a result, TIH has achieved an evaporation rate of 2.71 kg m−2 h−1 and energy efficiency of 90.7% under one sun irradiation, which is higher than membrane material and structure‐disordered hydrogel. This design principle, expandable manufacturing route, and excellent performance provide a potential way and design concept for water purification and desalination.

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A Simple, Scalable, Low‐Cost Honeycomb‐Like Carbonized Corncob for Highly Efficient Solar Steam Generation

Chen

Sha

et al. 2021

Advanced Sustainable Systems

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Direct solar steam generation (DSSG) is currently one of the most promising desalination methods due to its high energy conversion efficiency. The key element of DSSG is solar thermal conversion materials (STCMs), which absorb incoming solar illumination owing to their excellent solar absorption and convert light to heat. Although many types of STCMs have been applied to DSSG, there are still some existing problems such as complex preparation, high cost, and low energy conversion efficiency. In this work, carbonized corncob, as an example of inexpensive agricultural waste, is prepared as a STCM, which has porous honeycomb‐like pores, and hydrophilic functional groups, ensuring sufficient water transportation. Different pyrolytic temperatures lead to different size pores, content of amorphous carbon, and amount of oxygen functional groups, which affect the water transportation efficiency and light‐to‐heat conversion efficiency. Benefiting from developed pores, 95.7% solar absorption and thick‐hole wall, the carbonized corncob pyrolyzed at 800 °C reaches a solar‐to‐steam conversion efficiency of 86%, and its water evaporation rate is 1.62 kg m–2 h–1, higher than most biomass reported so far. Using cost‐effective materials and methods to carry out efficient photothermal conversion is of great significance for the realization of practical seawater desalination and sewage treatment.

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Simultaneously achieving thermal insulation and rapid water transport in sugarcane stems for efficient solar steam generation

Abstract: High-efficiency solar steam generators are facilely constructed based on a bifunctional bio-structure of sugarcane stem.

Cited by 155 publications

References 41 publications

Surface‐Carbonized Bamboos with Multilevel Functional Biostructures Deliver High Photothermal Water Evaporation Performance

Surface‐Carbonized Bamboos with Multilevel Functional Biostructures Deliver High Photothermal Water Evaporation Performance

Biomimetic MXene‐Polyvinyl Alcohol Composite Hydrogel with Vertically Aligned Channels for Highly Efficient Solar Steam Generation

A Simple, Scalable, Low‐Cost Honeycomb‐Like Carbonized Corncob for Highly Efficient Solar Steam Generation

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