Preparation Of Nature-Inspired Solar Evaporator And The Performance Study

Affected by environmental pollution and population growth,the shortage of fresh water resources seriously threatens the development of human society.The rational development of effective clean water production technology is imminent.Compared with traditional seawater desalination technology,solar seawater desalination technology does not need to consume fossil fuels as a cost.It has the advantages of cleanliness,green sustainability,etc.,which has attracted widespread attention.The currently reported researches on photothermal evaporators are mainly focused on the development of efficient light-absorbing materials to improve the photothermal conversion capability.However,lots of studies have shown that an evaporator with a vertical orientation structure can achieve rapid water transfer and contribute to the generation of steam.Natural water is rich in various types of bacteria,fungi and other microorganisms,which will attach to the surface of the evaporator and multiply and block its pore structure and reduces the evaporation effect of the evaporator.Therefore,the ideal solar water evaporator also needs to suppress the generation of biofouling to achieve long-term and stable use.The main research contents of this paper are as follows:(1)Natural Thalia dealbata stems have abundant inherent conduit passages and fiber walls,which can quickly supply water to the top through capillary force,providing ideas for the development of new solar water evaporators.Inspired by the transpiration of plants,we used flame carbonization and tube furnace carbonization of natural stems to improve its light capture and absorption and light-to-heat conversion performance.Under 1 sun light intensity,flame carbonization and tube furnace carbonization The steam generation rate of the Thalia dealbata stems water evaporator for carbonization furnace was 1.33 kg·m^-2·h^-1 and 1.63 kg·m^-2·h^-1 respectively.The flame carbonization Thalia dealbata stems water evaporator can effectively desalinate artificially simulated seawater,and can reduce the ion concentration by nearly 3 orders of magnitude.This type of evaporator has the advantages of simple preparation process,low cost,and environmental protection,and it is expected to be used as an emergency method to survive in the wild.(2)We have prepared a magnetic silk fibroin silver sulfide aerogel photothermal evaporator by artificial synthesis that mimics the vertical orientation pore structure of Thalia dealbata stems,which can reach 2.12 kg·m^-2·h^-1 under 1 sun light intensity.Additionally,the prepared aerogel exhibited effectively inhibit the proliferation of E.coli and S aureus.The apoptosis of bacteria resulted in the smoothness of the water transmission channel of the evaporator and ensured the materials long service.Meanwhile,the magnetically properties of aerogels endowed by magnetic nanoparticles may provide new strategies for future research on intelligent water evaporators.