3D printed thermo-responsive hydrogel evaporator with enhanced water transport for efficient solar steam generation
2024; Elsevier BV; Volume: 273; Linguagem: Inglês
10.1016/j.solener.2024.112507
ISSN1471-1257
Autores Tópico(s)Membrane Separation Technologies
ResumoThe development of solar interfacial evaporation technology is of great importance to satisfy the growing clean water demand, while there is still a considerable distance between the existing evaporators and practical applications because of their poor evaporation performance and fouling issues. In this paper, a thermo-responsive evaporator was constructed using 3D printing technology by introducing thermo-responsive poly(n-isopropyl acrylamide) (PNIPAm) into poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) and sodium alginate (SA) hydrogels. The prepared evaporator has obvious thermo-responsive behavior with the temperature change around low critical solution temperature (LCST), which significantly facilitates the water-transporting performance of the evaporator. Besides, the high photo-thermal conversion, appropriate thermal conductivity, and high hydrophilicity promote the excellent evaporation performance of the evaporator. Owing to these positive effects, the thermo-responsive evaporator can achieve a high evaporation rate of 3.587 kg·m−2·h−1 under 1.0 kW·m−2 irradiation, which has significant advantages over traditional hydrogel evaporators. Furthermore, good anti-fouling and water purification abilities found in our evaporator promote its practical utilization. This work may pave the way for the development of thermo-responsive solar interfacial evaporators in the application of desalination and water purification.
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