Fully Superhydrophilic, Self-Floatable, and Multi-Contamination-Resistant Solar Steam Generator Inspired by Seaweed
Chiyu Wen,
Hongshuang Guo,
Yingnan Zhu,
Haoyu Bai,
Weiqiang Zhao,
Xinsheng Wang,
Jing Yang,
Moyuan Cao,
Lei Zhang
Affiliations
Chiyu Wen
Frontier Science Center for Synthetic Biology & Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering (Ministry of Education), Department of Biochemical Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
Hongshuang Guo
Frontier Science Center for Synthetic Biology & Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering (Ministry of Education), Department of Biochemical Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
Yingnan Zhu
Frontier Science Center for Synthetic Biology & Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering (Ministry of Education), Department of Biochemical Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
Haoyu Bai
Haihe Laboratory of Sustainable Chemical Transformations, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China; State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
Weiqiang Zhao
Frontier Science Center for Synthetic Biology & Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering (Ministry of Education), Department of Biochemical Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
Xinsheng Wang
Haihe Laboratory of Sustainable Chemical Transformations, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China; State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
Jing Yang
Frontier Science Center for Synthetic Biology & Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering (Ministry of Education), Department of Biochemical Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China
Moyuan Cao
Haihe Laboratory of Sustainable Chemical Transformations, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China; State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China; Corresponding authors.
Lei Zhang
Frontier Science Center for Synthetic Biology & Key Laboratory of Systems Bioengineering (Ministry of Education), Department of Biochemical Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China; Corresponding authors.
Highly hydrophilic materials enable rapid water delivery and salt redissolution in solar-driven seawater desalination. However, the lack of independent floatability inhibits heat localization at the air/water interface. In nature, seaweeds with internal gas microvesicles can float near the sea surface to ensure photosynthesis. Here, we have developed a seaweed-inspired, independently floatable, but superhydrophilic (SIFS) solar evaporator. It needs no extra floatation support and can simultaneously achieve continuous water pumping and heat concentration. The evaporator resists salt accumulation, oil pollution, microbial corrosion, and protein adsorption. Densely packed hollow glass microbeads promote intrinsic floatability and heat insulation. Superhydrophilic zwitterionic sulfobetaine hydrogel provides a continuous water supply, redissolves the deposited salt, and endows the SIFS evaporator with excellent anti-fouling properties. With its unprecedented anti-contamination ability, this SIFS evaporator is expected to open a new avenue for designing floatable superhydrophilic materials and solving real-world issues of solar steam generation in complex environmental conditions.
