Metal–Organic Framework‐Derived Carbon Materials Loading on Polydopamine‐Modified Polyurethane Foam for Interfacial Solar Steam Generation and Seawater Desalination

Abstract

Solar interfacial evaporation is an effective way to address water scarcity in the 21st century. However, when the evaporator is exposed to light for a long time, salt would be deposited on its surface, leading to degradation of evaporation performance. Herein, an easily fabricated bilayer interfacial carbon–ZrO2/polydopamine/polyurethane foam (carbon–ZrO2/PDA/PU) evaporator is developed, in which carbonized Zr‐based metal–organic frameworks are used as photothermal layer with a light absorption of about 98% in the range of 200–2500 nm and PDA‐modified PU foam is used as the substrate with well water absorption ability and thermal insulation performance. The evaporation system achieves an evaporation rate of 1.626 kg m−2 h−1 and a photothermal conversion efficiency of 80.8% under 1 sun irradiation. Moreover, no salt deposition is generated and the evaporation rate keeps steady even in 10 wt% brine with prolonged light exposure. Therefore, the evaporator has great potential in solar water desalination and alleviates water shortage problems for less developed regions.

Robust and Elastic Thermoresponsive Hydrogels with High Swelling Properties for Efficient Solar Water Purification

“…The evaporation system obtained an evaporation rate of 1.626 kg m −2 h −1 and a photothermal efficiency of conversion of 80.8% under one sun irradiation. 15 The high enthalpy of water evaporation and restricted energy input still limit the rate of water evaporation, even if reducing heat loss can effectively increase the thermal energy usage efficiency. Meanwhile, the poor mechanical and swelling ability of water purification devices can affect the evaporation performance and the stability of freshwater generation over the long run.…”

“…Chao et al used PDA-modified polyester foam as the substrate with strong absorption of water and thermal insulation qualities and a carbonized Zr-based biological framework as the photothermal layer. The evaporation system obtained an evaporation rate of 1.626 kg m –2 h –1 and a photothermal efficiency of conversion of 80.8% under one sun irradiation . The high enthalpy of water evaporation and restricted energy input still limit the rate of water evaporation, even if reducing heat loss can effectively increase the thermal energy usage efficiency.…”

A new desorption method of polyurethane foam for the determination of gold and a comparative study on four desorption methods based on meta-analysis

“…PUF was widely used in various eld [16][17][18] and was rst applied to adsorb gold in acidic medium in 1970 by Bowen. 19 PUF is made of toluene diisocyanate and polyether polyol.…”

Hierarchical Tantalum Oxide Composite for Efficient Solar-Driven Water Purification

“…Carbon-based solar vapor materials possess a wide light absorption range, hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity shift, and micropores/mesopores. Biomass carbon materials have a low cost and a penetrating hierarchical pore structure, which is conducive to water diffusion and transmission. − Solar vapor composites are composed of various materials mentioned above, and the preparation process is often relatively complicated, making mass-scale production difficult. − …”

“… 26 − 28 Solar vapor composites are composed of various materials mentioned above, and the preparation process is often relatively complicated, making mass-scale production difficult. 29 − 31 …”