Solar-driven
interfacial evaporation has been considered a promising
approach to solve clean water scarcity with minimum environmental
impact. Herein, we rationally developed a flexible, floating, and
high-efficiency solar-driven interfacial water evaporation device
by designing a hierarchical structure (NiCo
x
S
y
-PANI@GF) in which numerous NiCo
x
S
y
nanosheets were
vertically and densely grown on a polyaniline (PANI)-modified glass
fiber (GF) membrane. The NiCo
x
S
y
-PANI@GF with honeycomb-like structures and
rough surfaces could produce multiscattering of incident solar light
and convert it into heat at the air–water interface. Simultaneously,
the hydrophilic NiCo
x
S
y
-PANI@GF modified by PANI coating could provide continuous
and rapid water supply via the capillary wicking effect. The GF substrate
with low thermal conductivity thermally localizes solar heating at
the air–water interface by suppressing underline heat loss.
The NiCo
x
S
y
-PANI@GF achieves a broad-spectrum light absorption rate of 96%,
an evaporation rate of 1.30 kg m–2 h–1, and a solar-to-steam efficiency of 78.7% under one solar irradiation.
In practical desalination, the homemade devices afford continuous
stable operation over 20 h and 15 evaporation cycles. Meanwhile, the
excellent hydrophilicity ensures the high salt-resistance ability
and excellent self-cleaning performance. Additionally, the high stability
and scalability in harsh conditions make the NiCo
x
S
y
-PANI@GF competitive for practical
full-spectrum and large-scale solar energy harvesting.
Solar-driven water evaporation has been considered as a promising strategy to solve the growing water shortage and water pollution problems. Developing low-cost and large-scale photo-thermal materials combining with highly efficient...
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