Interfacial Solar Vapour Generation: An Emerging Platform for Sustainable Clean Water Harvesting
- (1)
- Constructing novel-type solar evaporators for high-rate water evaporation: Solar evaporators should be designed with a comprehensive consideration of low cost, scalability, stability, and adaptability to enable their practical application in addressing water scarcity. To achieve this, strategies may include reducing the cost of solar evaporators, simplifying the preparation process, and enhancing long-term stability for use in harsh environments (e.g., strong mechanical stability, resistance to pollutants, etc.).
- (2)
- Upgrading the configuration of solar distillers for high-yield water harvesting: Under prolonged sunlight exposure, the high temperature and humidity inside solar distillers, coupled with inefficient heat transfer at the condensation interface, hinder rapid and effective water vapor condensation and latent heat recovery, resulting in clean water collection yields below 50%. To address this challenge, optimisation of the solar distiller’s exterior design can enhance sunlight utilisation; modification of the condenser’s surface microstructure and chemical properties can promote water droplet condensation; and improvements in heat and mass transfer can effectively manage thermal energy. Furthermore, the next generation of solar distillers should prioritise considerations of stability, cost, and maintenance as core issues.
- (3)
- Deeper understanding of the underlying mechanisms in the ISVG system: An in-depth understanding of key factors, such as efficient photothermal conversion, light absorption, water transport, and heat transfer processes, is essential for improving energy utilisation efficiency. Although some studies are gradually focusing on the interaction between materials and water and the great influence of this interaction on the evaporation behaviour of water, these studies are still in their infancy, and the core steps and related mechanisms are not clearly elaborated. For example, precise modelling or characterisation of the interaction of surface functional groups with water molecules has not yet been established, and there is a lack of unity between energy transfer processes and evaporation mechanisms on the microscopic scale involving mass transport, fluid dynamics, heat transfer, and interactions between protons, phonons, electrons, molecules, and ions.
- (4)
- Promoting the practical application of ISVG-based clean water collection: For the field of ISVG systems, which has been explored for sustainable clean water harvesting, more external practical explorations should be initiated, including the evaluation of multiple dimensions such as cost, environmental impact, and substitution of existing technologies, so as to advance the practical application of interfacial evaporation technology. More unremitting efforts and research are needed to solve the above key issues.
Funding
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
- Dolan, F.; Lamontagne, J.; Link, R.; Hejazi, M.; Reed, P.; Edmonds, J. Evaluating the economic impact of water scarcity in a changing world. Nat. Commun. 2021, 12, 1915. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Eliasson, J. The rising pressure of global water shortages. Nature 2015, 517, 6. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed] [Green Version]
- World Health Organization. Progress on Household Drinking Water, Sanitation and Hygiene 2000–2017: Special Focus on Inequalities; World Health Organization: Geneva, Switzerland, 2019. [Google Scholar]
- Porcu, S.; Secci, F.; Ricci, P.C. Advances in hybrid composites for photocatalytic applications: A review. Molecules 2022, 27, 6828. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Shannon, M.A.; Bohn, P.W.; Elimelech, M.; Georgiadis, J.G.; Mariñas, B.J.; Mayes, A.M. Science and technology for water purification in the coming decades. Nature 2008, 452, 301–310. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Zhang, P.; Liao, Q.; Yao, H.; Huang, Y.; Cheng, H.; Qu, L. Direct solar steam generation system for clean water production. Energy Storage Mater. 2019, 18, 429–446. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Zhang, P.; Li, J.; Lv, L.; Zhao, Y.; Qu, L. Vertically aligned graphene sheets membrane for highly efficient solar thermal generation of clean water. ACS Nano 2017, 11, 5087–5093. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Xu, N.; Li, J.; Finnerty, C.; Song, Y.; Zhou, L.; Zhu, B.; Wang, P.; Mi, B.; Zhu, J. Going beyond efficiency for solar evaporation. Nat. Water 2023, 1, 494–501. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Zhou, X.; Zhao, F.; Zhang, P.; Yu, G. Solar water evaporation toward water purification and beyond. ACS Mater. Lett. 2021, 3, 1112–1129. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Zhang, P.; Liao, Q.; Yao, H.; Cheng, H.; Huang, Y.; Yang, C.; Jiang, L.; Qu, L. Three-dimensional water evaporation on a macroporous vertically aligned graphene pillar array under one sun. J. Mater. Chem. A 2018, 6, 15303–15309. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Bai, Z.; Xu, H.; Li, G.; Yang, B.; Yao, J.; Guo, K.; Wang, N. MoS2 nanosheets decorated with Fe3O4 nanoparticles for highly efficient solar steam generation and water treatment. Molecules 2023, 28, 1719. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
- Zhang, P.; Liao, Q.; Zhang, T.; Cheng, H.; Huang, Y.; Yang, C.; Li, C.; Jiang, L.; Qu, L. High throughput of clean water excluding ions, organic media, and bacteria from defect-abundant graphene aerogel under sunlight. Nano Energy 2018, 46, 415–422. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Zhao, F.; Guo, Y.; Zhou, X.; Shi, W.; Yu, G. Materials for solar-powered water evaporation. Nat. Rev. Mater. 2020, 5, 388–401. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Chen, C.; Kuang, Y.; Hu, L. Challenges and opportunities for solar evaporation. Joule 2019, 3, 683–718. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Yao, H.; Zhang, P.; Yang, C.; Liao, Q.; Hao, X.; Huang, Y.; Zhang, M.; Wang, X.; Lin, T.; Cheng, H.; et al. Janus-interface engineering boosting solar steam towards high-efficiency water collection. Energy Environ. Sci. 2021, 14, 5330–5338. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Zhou, X.; Guo, Y.; Zhao, F.; Yu, G. Hydrogels as an emerging material platform for solar water purification. Acc. Chem. Res. 2019, 52, 3244–3253. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
Disclaimer/Publisher’s Note: The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of MDPI and/or the editor(s). MDPI and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content. |
© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Share and Cite
Zhang, P.; Yuan, W. Interfacial Solar Vapour Generation: An Emerging Platform for Sustainable Clean Water Harvesting. Molecules 2023, 28, 5721. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28155721
Zhang P, Yuan W. Interfacial Solar Vapour Generation: An Emerging Platform for Sustainable Clean Water Harvesting. Molecules. 2023; 28(15):5721. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28155721
Chicago/Turabian StyleZhang, Panpan, and Wenjing Yuan. 2023. "Interfacial Solar Vapour Generation: An Emerging Platform for Sustainable Clean Water Harvesting" Molecules 28, no. 15: 5721. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28155721