Highly efficient solar steam generation by hybrid plasmonic structured TiN/mesoporous anodized alumina membrane

Bian, Yiyang; Tang, Kun; Xu, Zhongwen; Ma, Jingrui; Shen, Yonghang; Hao, Licai; Chen, Xuanhu; Nie, Kuiying; Li, Jing; Ma, Tongchuan; Zhu, Suhua; Ye, Jiandong; Xiong, Xiang; Yang, Yi; Zhang, Rong; Zheng, Youdou; Gu, Shulin

doi:10.1557/jmr.2018.326

Cited by 19 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 86 publications

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“…The thermal radiation shielding performance is confirmed by the temperature changes of the water surface. As shown in Figure b, the temperature of water surface has risen only by 1.0 °C under 1 sun illumination, much lower than the 5 °C in the case of direct bulk water contact in our previous work . The heat loss of the 2D water path is about 0.5% (assuming the convection heat transfer coefficient to be 5 W m −2 K −1 ) .…”

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confidence: 66%

Carbonized Bamboos as Excellent 3D Solar Vapor‐Generation Devices

Bian

Tang

et al. 2018

Adv Materials Technologies

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126

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of the 2D structures has approached its limit (< 90%) due to which the energy loss via reflection (2-5%) and thermal radiation heat loss (8-12%) occurs in all the 2D structures.One of the effective strategies for further improving the vapor-generation efficiency is to decrease the surface temperature of the absorber by increasing the surface area within a given projection area. [22] Some unprecedented vapor-generation rates have been reported in various 3D generators, which are all beyond the input solar energy limit. [23][24][25] Here, we have found that bamboos, as a natural hierarchical cellular material, can be excellent 3D solar vapor-generation devices due to their unique structural features. By a simple carbonization progress, the bamboos maintain remarkable mechanical property. Meanwhile, the carbonized bamboo-based evaporator possesses the following advantages: 1) natural hydrophilicity; 2) numerous aligned microchannels acting as highways for rapid water transport; 3) high light absorptance in a broad spectral range; 4) reduced thermal radiation heat loss; 5) lower average temperature than environment; 6) reduced vaporization enthalpy of water confined in the bamboo mesh; 7) remarkable mechanical properties; 8) ability of salt self-cleaning; 9) good scalability and low cost. As a result, a floating carbonized bamboo sample can evaporate water with an extremely high vapor-generation rate of 3.13 kg m −2 h −1 under 1 sun illumination. It also shows superior reusability and stability for solar vapor generation, without any performance degradation after cycling 360 h. The carbonized bamboo shows favorable overall performance compared with other reported solar vapor generators and has attractive applications in desalination as well asindustrial and domestic wastewater abatement. All of these features are elucidated below in detail.Bamboo is the fastest-growing and highest-yielding hierarchical cellular material on the Earth. A typical bamboo reaches maturity within months and ultimate mechanical properties within few years, making it one of the most renewable resources. [26] Figure 1a-c shows the illustration of the design concept for a bamboo-based solar vapor-generation device. Bamboo tubes with desired height were cut from the natural bamboo and were carbonized to make it dark. The carbonized Given the global challenges of water scarcity, solar-driven vapor generation has become a renewed topic as an energy-efficient way for clean water production. Here, it is revealed that bamboo, as a natural hierarchical cellular material, can be an excellent 3D solar vapor-generation device by a simple carbonization progress. A floating carbonized bamboo sample evaporates water with an extremely high vapor-generation rate of 3.13 kg m −2 h −1 under 1 sun illumination. The high evaporation rate is achieved by the unique natural structure of bamboos. The inner wall of bamboo recovers the diffuse light energy and the thermal radiation heat loss from the 3D bamboo bottom, and the outer wall captures energy from the warmer...

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confidence: 66%

Carbonized Bamboos as Excellent 3D Solar Vapor‐Generation Devices

Bian

Tang

et al. 2018

Adv Materials Technologies

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126

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“…Here, plasmonic TiN nanoparticles with the diameter of 40–50 nm was selected as a representative black absorber because of its high internal photothermal conversion efficiency (96.7%) and spray‐coated on the air‐laid paper. [ 16 ] The mass changes of water using the hybrid plasmonic TiN/paper iSTV under 1‐sun illumination were recorded ( Figure a). The TiN based iSTV evaporates pure water at a high rate of 1.31 kg m −2 h −1 , which is × 2.7 that of bare Ni 2+ solution under 1‐sun illumination (Figure S4, Supporting Information).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable Solar Evaporation from Solute Surface via Energy Downconversion

et al. 2020

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Solar‐powered interfacial evaporation, a cost‐effective and ecofriendly way to obtain freshwater from contaminated water, provides a promising path to ease the global water crisis. However, solute accumulation has severely impacted efficient light‐to‐heat‐to‐vapor generation in conventional solar evaporators. Here, it is demonstrated that an interfacial solar thermal photo‐vapor generator is an efficient light‐to‐heat photo‐vapor generator that can evaporate water stably in the presence of solute accumulation. An energy downconversion strategy which shifts sunlight energy from visible‐near infrared to mid infrared‐far infrared bands turns water from transparent to its own absorber, thus changing the fixed evaporation surface (black absorber) in a traditional solar evaporator to a dynamic front (solute surface). Light reflected from the solute can be recycled to drive evaporation. The prototype evaporator can evaporate at a high speed of 1.94 kg m−2 h−1 during a persistent solute accumulation process for 32 h. Such an ability to produce purified water while recycle valuable heavy metals from waste water containing heavy metal ions can inspire more advanced solar‐driven water treatment devices.

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“…We note that bubble formation caused by the thermoplasmonic effect has been observed for Au NPs by many research groups [ 2 , 15 , 17 , 53 ]. However, this phenomenon has not been reported for TiN, although high local heat has been suggested for various TiN nanostructures under simulated solar light illumination [ 19 , 21 , 23 , 27 , 28 , 29 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…TiN NPs have been reported to be promising for solar harvesting applications, in which efficient nanoscale heat generators with a wide spectral absorption range are highly desirable [ 21 , 26 , 27 ]. Employing these advantages, TiN has been demonstrated as an excellent photothermal material for SWE [ 21 , 22 , 23 , 28 , 29 , 30 ]. Furthermore, since evaporation occurs at the liquid–air interface, and heat is generated in the bulk liquid, the volumetric heating method usually achieves low energy conversion efficiency due to the heat loss [ 5 , 28 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Titanium Nitride Nanodonuts Synthesized from Natural Ilmenite Ore as a Novel and Efficient Thermoplasmonic Material

Nguyen

et al. 2020

Nanomaterials

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Nanostructures of titanium nitride (TiN) have recently been considered as a new class of plasmonic materials that have been utilized in many solar energy applications. This work presents the synthesis of a novel nanostructure of TiN that has a nanodonut shape from natural ilmenite ore using a low-cost and bulk method. The TiN nanodonuts exhibit strong and spectrally broad localized surface plasmon resonance absorption in the visible region centered at 560 nm, which is well suited for thermoplasmonic applications as a nanoscale heat source. The heat generation is investigated by water evaporation experiments under simulated solar light, demonstrating excellent solar light harvesting performance of the nanodonut structure.

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Highly efficient solar steam generation by hybrid plasmonic structured TiN/mesoporous anodized alumina membrane

Abstract: Abstract

Cited by 19 publications

References 86 publications

Carbonized Bamboos as Excellent 3D Solar Vapor‐Generation Devices

Carbonized Bamboos as Excellent 3D Solar Vapor‐Generation Devices

Sustainable Solar Evaporation from Solute Surface via Energy Downconversion

Titanium Nitride Nanodonuts Synthesized from Natural Ilmenite Ore as a Novel and Efficient Thermoplasmonic Material

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