Nature Inspired MXene-Decorated 3D Honeycomb-Fabric Architectures Toward Efficient Water Desalination and Salt Harvesting

Nano-Micro Letters

Kai Dong¹  Shifeng Zhu²  Zhiwei Lei²  Xiansheng Zhang²  Lijun Qu²  Lili Wang²  Xuantong Sun³  Xuqing Liu³  Xueji Zhang⁴ 

[1] Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100083, Beijing, People’s Republic of China;College of Textiles and Clothing, State Key Laboratory of Bio-Fibers and Eco-Textiles, Research Center for Intelligent and Wearable Technology, Intelligent Wearable Engineering Research Center of Qingdao, Qingdao University, 266071, Qingdao, People’s Republic of China;Department of Materials, University of Manchester, M13 9PL, Manchester, UK;School of Biomedical Engineering, Health Science Center, Shenzhen University, 518060, Shenzhen, People’s Republic of China;

关键词: 3D honeycomb fabric;    MXene;    Photothermal conversion;    Water desalination;    Salt harvesting;   

DOI  :  10.1007/s40820-021-00748-7

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

tsThe 3D honeycomb-like fabric decorated with MXene is woven as solar evaporator.The honeycomb structure enables light-trapping and recycling of convective and radiative heat.The 3D honeycomb-fabric evaporator possesses high solar efficiency up to 93.5% under 1 sun irradiation and excellent salt harvesting ability.AbstractSolar steam generation technology has emerged as a promising approach for seawater desalination, wastewater purification, etc. However, simultaneously achieving superior light absorption, thermal management, and salt harvesting in an evaporator remains challenging. Here, inspired by nature, a 3D honeycomb-like fabric decorated with hydrophilic Ti3C2Tx (MXene) is innovatively designed and successfully woven as solar evaporator. The honeycomb structure with periodically concave arrays creates the maximum level of light-trapping by multiple scattering and omnidirectional light absorption, synergistically cooperating with light absorbance of MXene. The minimum thermal loss is available by constructing the localized photothermal generation, contributed by a thermal-insulating barrier connected with 1D water path, and the concave structure of efficiently recycling convective and radiative heat loss. The evaporator demonstrates high solar efficiency of up to 93.5% and evaporation rate of 1.62 kg m−2 h−1 under one sun irradiation. Moreover, assisted by a 1D water path in the center, the salt solution transporting in the evaporator generates a radial concentration gradient from the center to the edge so that the salt is crystallized at the edge even in 21% brine, enabling the complete separation of water/solute and efficient salt harvesting. This research provides a large-scale manufacturing route of high-performance solar steam generator.

【 授权许可】

CC BY