南方能源建设 (Jul 2024)
Application of Wide Spectrum Conjugated Small Molecule for High Efficiency Solar-Powered Seawater Desalination and Power Generation
Abstract
[Introduction] In order to solve the problems of high cost and complex preparation process of solar desalination devices, organic small molecule photothermal materials, which possess advantages such as light weight, low cost, simplified synthesis and purification processes, are selected as solar energy absorption materials. [Method] A kind of organic conjugated small molecule Y6 was combined with a low-cost cellulose paper to prepare a Janus structure water evaporator with wide spectrum absorption in the range of 350~1 000 nm and high photothermal conversion performance. [Result] The bottom surface of the evaporator has efficient water adhesion, facilitating rapid water collection, while the top surface has water repellency, which can achieve the self-floating ability. Moreover, each 3.14 cm2 device only needs 0.5 mg photothermal material to achieve a temperature of more than 70 ℃, demonstrating significant material-saving advantages. [Conclusion] Under 1.0 kW/m2 solar irradiation, the photothermal conversion efficiency of Y6-based evaporator is 64.4%, and the evaporation rate is up to 1.13 kg/(m2·h), which is obviously higher than that of the control cellulose paper evaporator. After solar evaporation desalination, the purified water obtained exhibits a significant reduction in ion concentration by 4~6 orders of magnitude compared to the initial simulated seawater. When the evaporator is integrated with a thermoelectric device, the evaporation rate reaches 1.02 kg/(m2·h) under 1.0 kW/m2 solar irradiation. Meanwhile, an output voltage of 55 mV is generated. This study demonstrates that the solar evaporator based on organic small molecule Y6 has a promising application prospect in the synergistic effect of photothermal water purification and thermoelectric power generation.
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