Search Results (42)

Solar interface evaporation is a promising technology for sustainable freshwater acquisition. Regulating the hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity of the evaporator can optimize the water transport, heat transfer, and evaporation enthalpy during the evaporation process, thereby significantly improving the evaporation performance. The CoSe/Co-SeC nanoflower was prepared by high-temperature selenization of ZIF-67. Each petal of the nanoflower is loaded with a density-gradient distribution CoSe/Co, forming an uneven hydrophilic and hydrophobic surface that transitions from bottom hydrophilicity to top hydrophobicity. During the evaporation process, the hydrophilic bottom of the petals promotes rapid water supply, while the hydrophobic top of the petals protrudes from the water surface to form a large number of solid–liquid–gas three-phase interfaces. Therefore, water clusters activated by the strong hydrophilic sites at the bottom of the petals can reach the gas–liquid interface after a very short transmission distance and achieve water cluster evaporation. In addition, the nanoflower optimized the heat transfer at the solid–liquid interface and further promoted the increase in evaporation rate through micro-meniscus evaporation (MME). As a result, the evaporation rate and energy efficiency of the CoSe/Co-SeC evaporator are as high as 2.44 kg m⁻² h⁻¹ and 95.5%. This work passes controllable preparation of the gradient CoSe/Co-SeC and shows the enormous potential of micro-hydrophobic and hydrophilic regulation for improving solar interface evaporation performance. Full article

An efficient solar water evaporator is an important strategy for addressing the problem of water shortage. Constructing high-performance solar interfacial evaporators through bionic design has become a crucial approach for performance enhancement. Through the study of zebra patterns, it has been found that the black-and-white alternating patterns generate vortices on the surface of the zebra’s skin, thereby reducing the temperature. By utilizing the vortices brought about by the temperature difference, the design of a solar water evaporator is created based on the bionic zebra pattern, so as to improve its water evaporation performance. In this work, green and sustainable wood is used as the base of the evaporator, and the bionic design of zebra stripes is adopted. Meanwhile, the following research is conducted: The wood is cut into thin slices with dimensions of 30 × 30 × 5 mm³, and a delignification treatment is performed. Tannic acid-Fe ions are used as the photothermal material for functionalization. A series of stable patterned water evaporators based on delignification wood loaded with tannic acid-Fe ion complex (TA-Fe³⁺) are successfully prepared. Among them, the wood-based solar water evaporator with 3 mm zebra stripes exhibits excellent photothermal water evaporation performance, achieving a water evaporation rate of 1.44 kg·m⁻²·h⁻¹ under the illumination intensity of one sun. Its water evaporation performance is significantly superior to that of other coating patterns, proving that the bionic design of zebra patterns is effective and can improve water evaporation efficiency. This work provides new insights into the development of safe and environmentally friendly solar interfacial water evaporation materials through bionic design. Full article

Solar-driven interfacial evaporation has emerged as a sustainable and highly efficient technology for seawater desalination, attracting considerable attention for its potential to address global water scarcity. However, challenges such as low evaporation rates and salt accumulation significantly hinder the performance and operational lifespan of evaporators. Here, we present an innovative Janus-structured evaporator featuring distinct operational mechanisms through the integration of a hydrophobic PVDF-HFP@PPy photothermal membrane and a hydrophilic PVA-CF@TA-Fe³⁺ hydrogel, coupled with a unidirectional flow configuration. Distinct from conventional Janus evaporators that depend on interfacial water transport through asymmetric layers, our design achieves two pivotal innovations: (1) the integration of a lateral fluid flow path with the Janus architecture to enable sustained brine replenishment and salt rejection and (2) the creation of dual vapor escape pathways (hydrophobic and hydrophilic layers) synergized with hydrogel-mediated water activation to elevate evaporation kinetics. Under 1 sun illumination, the evaporator achieves a maximum evaporation rate of 2.26 kg m⁻² h⁻¹ with a photothermal efficiency of 84.6%, in both unidirectional flow and suspension modes. Notably, the evaporation performance remains stable across a range of saline conditions, demonstrating remarkable resistance to salt accumulation. Even during continuous evaporation of highly saline water (10% brine), the evaporator maintains an evaporation rate of 2.10 kg m⁻² h⁻¹ without observable salt precipitation. The dual anti-salt strategies—enabled by the Janus structure and unidirectional flow design—underscore the evaporator’s capability for sustained high performance and long-term stability in saline environments. These findings provide valuable insights into the development of next-generation solar evaporators that deliver high performance, long-term stability, and robustness in saline and hypersaline environments. Full article

Solar desalination is widely regarded as an effective way to solve freshwater scarcity. However, the balance between the costs of micro-nanostructures, thermal regulation, and the durability of interface evaporators must all be considered. In this study, a super-hydrophobic copper foam with hierarchical micro-nanostructures exhibited temperatures greater than 66 °C under solar illumination of 1 kW·m⁻². Significantly, the modified copper foam acting as a solar interface evaporator had a water harvesting efficiency of 1.76 kg·m⁻²·h⁻¹, resulting from its good photothermal conversion and porous skeleton. Further, the anti-deicing, self-cleaning, and anti-abrasion tests were carried out to demonstrate its durability. The whole fabrication of the as-prepared CF was only involved in mechanical extrusion and spray-coating, which is suitable for large-scale production. This work endows the interface evaporator with super-hydrophobicity, photo-thermal conversion, anti-icing, and mechanical stability, all of which are highly demanded in multi-scenario solar desalination. Full article

Currently, solar-driven interface evaporation for seawater desalination is believed to be an effective way to overcome freshwater shortage. To improve the efficiency of solar-driven interfacial evaporators, designing the evaporator’s structure is essential. In this study, we proposed a folded structure solar-driven interfacial evaporator with electrospun recycled PET/carbon nanotube fibrous membranes. The as-spun membranes were folded into 4, 8, and 16 petals. The results suggested that F@8 (fold with eight petals) had the best solar-driven evaporation performance, with a photothermal conversion efficiency of 90.59% and an evaporation rate of 1.31 kg·m⁻²·h⁻¹, due to its lower light projection area and greater light absorption. The evaporation performance remained stable after 10 cycles. In addition, the concentration of ions in the freshwater collected after desalination was 2~3 orders of magnitude lower than that before desalination. These results indicate that a properly designed folded structure can effectively enhance evaporators through changing the light projection area and absorption. This approach might provide an effective way to optimize the structure of interfacial solar-driven evaporators. Full article

The global shortage of freshwater resources and the energy crisis have propelled solar-driven interfacial evaporation (SDIE) coupled with photocatalytic technology to become a research focus in efficient and low-carbon water treatment. Graphene-based materials demonstrate unique advantages in SDIE–photocatalysis integrated systems, owing to their broadband light absorption, ultrafast thermal carrier dynamics, tunable electronic structure, and low evaporation enthalpy characteristics. This review systematically investigates the enhancement mechanisms of graphene photothermal conversion on photocatalytic processes, including (1) improving light absorption through surface morphology modulation, defect engineering, and plasmonic material compositing; (2) reducing water evaporation enthalpy via hydrophilic functional group modification and porous structure design; (3) suppressing heat loss through thermal insulation layers and 3D structural optimization; and (4) enhancing water transport efficiency via fluid channel engineering and wettability control. Furthermore, salt resistance strategies and structural optimization significantly improve system practicality and stability. In water treatment applications, graphene-based SDIE systems achieve synergistic “adsorption–catalysis–evaporation” effects, enabling efficient the degradation of organic pollutants, reduction in/fixation of heavy metal ions, and microbial inactivation. However, practical implementation still faces challenges including low steam condensation efficiency, insufficient long-term material durability, and high scaling-up costs. Future research should prioritize enhancing heat and mass transfer in condensation systems, optimizing material environmental adaptability, and developing low-cost manufacturing processes to promote widespread application of graphene-based SDIE–photocatalysis integrated systems. Full article

With the increasing shortage of water resources and the aggravation of water pollution, solar-driven interfacial steam generation (SISG) technology has garnered considerable attention because of its low energy consumption, simple operation, and environmental friendliness. The popular multi-layer SISG evaporator is composed of two basic structures: a photothermal layer and a support layer. Herein, the support layer underlies the photothermal layer and carries out thermal management, supports the photothermal layer, and transports water to the evaporation interface to improve the stability of the evaporator. While most research focuses on the photothermal layer, the support layer is typically viewed as a supporting object for the photothermal layer. This review focuses on the support layer, which is relatively neglected in evaporator development. It summarizes existing progress in the field of multi-layer interface evaporators, based on various polymers and biomaterials, along with their advantages and disadvantages. Specifically, mainly polymer-based support layers are reviewed, including polymer foams, gels, and their corresponding functional materials, while biomaterial support layers, including natural plants, carbonized biomaterials, and other innovation biomaterials are not. Additionally, the corresponding structure design strategies for the support layer were also involved. It was found that the selection and optimal design of the substrate also played an important role in the efficient operation of the whole steam generation system. Their evolution and refinement are vital for advancing the sustainability and effectiveness of interfacial evaporation technology. The corresponding potential future research direction and application prospects of support layer materials are carefully presented to enable effective responses to global water challenges. Full article

In the field of perovskite optoelectronics, developing hole-transporting materials (HTMs) on the spiro[fluorene-9,9′-xanthene] (SFX) platform is one of the current research focuses. The SFX inherits the merits of spirobifluorene in terms of the configuration and property, but it is more easily derivatized and regulated by virtue of its binary structure. In this work, we design and synthesize four isomeric SFX-based HTMs, namely m-SFX-mF, p-SFX-mF, m-SFX-oF, and p-SFX-oF, through varying the positions of fluorination on the peripheral aniline units and their substitutions on the SFX core, and the optoelectronic performance of the resulting HTMs is evaluated in both perovskite solar cells (PSCs) and light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs) by the vacuum thermal evaporating hole-transporting layers (HTLs). The HTM p-SFX-oF exhibits an improved power conversion efficiency of 15.21% in an inverted PSC using CH₃NH₃PbI₃ as an absorber, benefiting from the deep HOMO level and good HTL/perovskite interface contact. Meanwhile, the HTM m-SFX-mF provides a maximum external quantum efficiency of 3.15% in CsPb(Br/Cl)₃-based PeLEDs, which is attributed to its perched HOMO level and shrunken band-gap for facilitating charge carrier injection and then exciton combination. Through elucidating the synergistic position effect of fluorination on aniline units and their substitutions on the SFX core, this work lays the foundation for developing low-cost and efficient HTMs in the future. Full article

Due to the lower cost compared to screen-printed silver contacts, the Ni/Cu/Ag contacts formed by plating have been continuously studied as a potential metallization technology for solar cells. To address the adhesion issue of backside grid lines in electroplated n-Tunnel Oxide Passivating Contacts (n-TOPCon) solar cells and reduce ohmic contact, we propose a novel approach of adding a Ni/Si alloy seed layer between the Ni and Si layers. The metal nickel layer is deposited on the backside of the solar cells using electron beam evaporation, and excess nickel is removed by H₂SO₄:H₂O₂ etchant under annealing conditions of 300–425 °C to form a seed layer. The adhesion strength increased by more than 0.5 N mm⁻¹ and the contact resistance dropped by 0.5 mΩ cm² in comparison to the traditional direct plating Ni/Cu/Ag method. This is because the resulting Ni/Si alloy has outstanding electrical conductivity, and the produced Ni/Si alloy has higher adhesion over direct contact between the nickel–silicon interface, as well as enhanced surface roughness. The results showed that at an annealing temperature of 375 °C, the main compound formed was NiSi, with a contact resistance of 1 mΩ cm⁻² and a maximum gate line adhesion of 2.7 N mm⁻¹. This method proposes a new technical solution for cost reduction and efficiency improvement of n-TOPCon solar cells. Full article

The use of solar interface evaporation for seawater desalination or sewage treatment is an environmentally friendly and sustainable approach; however, achieving efficient solar energy utilization and ensuring the long-term stability of the evaporation devices are two major challenges for practical application. To address these issues, we developed a novel ceramic fiber@bioderived carbon composite aerogel with a continuous through-hole structure via electrospinning and freeze-casting methods. Specifically, an aerogel was prepared by incorporating perovskite oxide (Ca₀.₂₅La₀.₅Dy₀.₂₅)CrO₃ ceramic fibers (CCFs) and amylopectin-derived carbon (ADC). The CCFs exhibited remarkable photothermal conversion efficiencies, and the ADC served as a connecting agent and imparted hydrophilicity to the aerogel due to its abundant oxygen-containing functional groups. After optimizing the composition and microstructure, the (Ca₀.₂₅La₀.₅Dy₀.₂₅)CrO₃ ceramic fiber@biomass-derived carbon aerogel demonstrated remarkable properties, including efficient light absorption and rapid transport of water and solutes. Under 1 kW m⁻² light intensity irradiation, this novel material exhibited a high temperature (48.3 °C), high evaporation rate (1.68 kg m⁻² h⁻¹), and impressive solar vapor conversion efficiency (91.6%). Moreover, it exhibited long-term stability in water evaporation even with highly concentrated salt solutions (25 wt%). Therefore, the (Ca₀.₂₅La₀.₅Dy₀.₂₅)CrO₃ ceramic fiber@biomass-derived carbon aerogel holds great promise for various applications of solar interface evaporation. Full article

Modern society and industrial development rely heavily on the availability of freshwater and minerals. Seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) has been widely adopted for freshwater supply, although many questions have arisen about its environmental sustainability owing to the disposal of hypersaline rejected solutions (brine). This scenario has accelerated significant developments towards the hybridization of SWRO with membrane distillation–crystallization (MD-MCr), which can extract water and minerals from spent brine. Nevertheless, the substantial specific energy consumption associated with MD-MCr remains a significant limitation. In this work, energy harvesting was secured from renewables by hotspots embodied in the membranes, implementing the revolutionary approach of brine mining via photothermal membrane crystallization (PhMCr). This method employs self-heating nanostructured interfaces under solar radiation to enhance water evaporation, creating a carefully controlled supersaturated environment responsible for the extraction of minerals. Photothermal mixed matrix photothermal membranes (MMMs) were developed by incorporating graphene oxide (GO) or carbon black (CB) into polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) solubilized in an eco-friendly solvent (i.e., triethyl phosphate (TEP)). MMMs were prepared using non-solvent-induced phase separation (NIPS). The effect of GO or GB on the morphology of MMMs and the photothermal behavior was examined. Light-to-heat conversion was used in PhMCr experiments to facilitate the evaporation of water from the SWRO brine to supersaturation, leading to sodium chloride (NaCl) nucleation and crystallization. Overall, the results indicate exciting perspectives of PhMCr in brine valorization for a sustainable desalination industry. Full article

Improving the performances and reducing costs of III-V multijunction solar cells are crucial in aerospatial energy systems and in terrestrial concentrator modules. We attempted to achieve both objectives by implementing non-ohmic metal/semiconductor interface contacts on the front surface of III-V/Ge triple-junction solar cells. We demonstrate the feasibility of this concept for this type of solar cell by a simple evaporation of Al only either on the GaAs contact layer or the AlInP window. The best results were obtained when sulfur passivation by (NH₄)2S_x was conducted on the GaAs contact layer. This allowed for a reduction in reverse saturation dark current density by one order of magnitude and a slight increase in V${}_{oc}$ of almost 20 mV under 1 sun illumination relative to a reference device with Pd/Ge/Ti/Pd ohmic contacts. However, poor performances were observed at first under concentrated sunlight. Further annealing the solar cells with Al front metallization resulted in the reduction of V${}_{oc}$ to the same level as the reference solar cell but allowed for good performances under high illumination. Indeed, an efficiency over 34% was observed at 500 suns light intensity both for Al and Pd/Ge/Ti/Pd contacted solar cells. Full article

SnO₂ has attracted much attention due to its low-temperature synthesis (ca. 140 °C), high electron mobility, and low-cost manufacturing. However, lattice mismatch and oxygen vacancies at the SnO₂/CsPbI_3−xBr_x interface generally lead to undesirable nonradiative recombination in optoelectronic devices. The traditional TiO₂ used as the electron transport layer (ETL) for all-inorganic perovskite solar cells (PSCs) requires high-temperature sintering and crystallization, which are not suitable for the promising flexible PSCs and tandem solar cells, raising concerns about surface defects and device uniformity. To address these challenges, we present a bilayer ETL consisting of a SnO₂ layer using electron beam evaporation and a TiO₂ layer through the hydrothermal method, resulting in an enhanced performance of the perovskite solar cell. The bilayer device exhibits an improved power conversion efficiency of 11.48% compared to the single-layer device (8.09%). The average fill factor of the bilayer electron transport layer is approximately 15% higher compared to the single-layer electron transport layer. Through a systematic investigation of the use of ETL for CsPb_3−xBr_x PSCs on optical and electronic properties, we demonstrate that the SnO₂/TiO₂ is an efficient bilayer ETL for PSCs as it significantly enhances the charge extraction capability, suppresses carrier recombination at the ETL/perovskite interface, facilitates efficient photogenerated carrier separation and transport, and provides high current density and reduced hysteresis. Full article

Due to its high carrier mobility and electron transmission, the phenyl-C₆₁-butyric acid methyl ester (PC₆₁BM) is usually used as an electron transport layer (ETL) in perovskite solar cell (PSC) configurations. However, PC₆₁BM films suffer from poor coverage on perovskite active layers because of their low solubility and weak adhesive ability. In this work, to overcome the above-mentioned shortcomings, 30 nm thick PC₆₁BM ETLs with different concentrations were modeled. Using a 30 nm thick PC₆₁BM ETL with a concentration of 50 mg/mL, the obtained performance values of the PSCs were as follows: an open-circuit voltage (V_oc) of 0.87 V, a short-circuit current density (J_sc) of 20.44 mA/cm², a fill factor (FF) of 70.52%, and a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 12.54%. However, undesired fine cracks present on the PC₆₁BM surface degraded the performance of the resulting PSCs. To further improve performance, multiple different thicknesses of ZnO interface layers were deposited on the PC₆₁BM ETLs to release the fine cracks using a thermal evaporator. In addition to the pavement of fine cracks, the ZnO interface layer could also function as a hole-blocking layer due to its larger highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy level. Consequently, the PCE was improved to 14.62% by inserting a 20 nm thick ZnO interface layer in the PSCs. Full article

The global shortage of freshwater supply has become an imminent problem. The high energy consumption of traditional desalination technology cannot meet the demand for sustainable energy development. Therefore, exploring new energy sources to obtain pure water has become one of the effective ways to solve the freshwater resource crisis. In recent years, solar steam technology which utilizes solar energy as the sole input source for photothermal conversion has shown to be sustainable, low-cost, and environmentally friendly, providing a viable low-carbon solution for freshwater supply. This review summarizes the latest developments in solar steam generators. The working principle of steam technology and the types of heating systems are described. The photothermal conversion mechanisms of different materials are illustrated. Emphasis is placed on describing strategies to optimize light absorption and improve steam efficiency from material properties to structural design. Finally, challenges in the development of solar steam devices are pointed out, aiming to provide new ideas for the development of solar steam devices and alleviate the shortage of freshwater resources. Full article