Biomimetic Design of 3D Fe3O4/V-EVOH Fiber-Based Self-Floating Composite Aerogel to Enhance Solar Steam Generation Performance

• DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.4c00572
• Publication Date: 2024-04-03T16:30:05Z
• Authors: Yi Wu; Shanshan Li; Kai Yan; Ming Xia; Qin Cheng; Jia Xu; Shanshan He; Xinlin Zha; Dong Wang; Limin Wu

An interfacial solar steam generation evaporator for seawater desalination has attracted extensive interest in recent years. Nevertheless, challenges still remain relatively low evaporation rate, unsatisfactory energy conversion efficiency, and salt accumulation. Herein, we have demonstrated a biomimetic bilayer composite aerogel consisting of bottom hydrophilic vertically aligned EVOH channels an upper hydrophobic conical Fe3O4 array. Thanks to the design merits, 3D Fe3O4/V-EVOH exhibits high rate ∼2.446 kg m–2 h–1 impressive efficiency ∼165.5% under 1 sun illumination, which is superior those state-of-the-art evaporators reported so far. Moreover, asymmetrical wettability not only allows self-float on water but also facilitates ion diffusion channels; thus, shows no crystals its surface 6% decrease performance even after concentration increases from 0 10.0 wt %.