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.
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