Volume 23: Sustainable Energy Solutions for a Post-COVID Recovery towards a Better Future: Part VI

Efficient and anti-salt Cu plasmonic enhanced porous solar evaporator Dan Xu, Hong Zhong , Lin Lu

Abstract

Recently, solar steam generation as an efficient way of solar harvesting shows great potential in solving the fresh-water shortage issue, due to it is zero carbon emission and high photothermal utilization. However, the drawbacks caused by salt accumulation on the evaporator surface would severely lower the efficiency and lifetime of the whole evaporation system. This research attempted to fabricate a facile and reliable evaporator by firstly introducing a plasmonic enhanced porous solar evaporator membrane via a one-step laser scribing method. The Cu nanoparticles scaled in multiple sizes would be cladded with the graphene and deposited onto the membrane surface. This novel evaporator obtains a high solar spectrum absorption of more than 98 %, which results in a high surface temperature of more than 80 ℃ under 1 sun irradiation. Meanwhile, the fabricated solar-driven membrane can achieve a high evaporation rate of 2.29 kg/m2.h, besides it exhibits a high efficiency of 1.82 kg/m2.h and long-term stability in a highly concentrated brine of 20 wt% NaCl.

Keywords freshwater generation, anti-slat, solar driven, plasmonic enhanced