Ultrahigh solar steam generation rate of a vertically aligned reduced graphene oxide foam realized by dynamic compression

Although solar steam generation is a promising water purification approach for alleviating the global shortage of clean water, the water evaporation rate of non-organic systems is still far from perfection. Herein, a vertically aligned reduced graphene oxide (V-RGO) foam with numerous vertical chann...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of materials chemistry. A, Materials for energy and sustainability Vol. 9; no. 26; pp. 14859 - 14867
Main Authors Li, Wei, Tian, Xiaohan, Li, Xiaofeng, Han, Shuang, Li, Changjun, Zhai, Xian-Zhi, Kang, Yu, Yu, Zhong-Zhen
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Cambridge Royal Society of Chemistry 06.07.2021
Subjects
Channels
Compression
Converters
Curve fitting
Desalination
Energy
Energy conversion
Enthalpy
Evaporation
Evaporation rate
Foams
Graphene
graphene oxide
Hydrogels
Image compression
Inorganic materials
Intermediate water
Irradiation
Light irradiation
Photothermal conversion
Pore size distribution
Radiation
Seawater
Size distribution
Solar energy
steam
Steam generation
Temperature distribution
Thermal energy
Vaporization
Velocity distribution
volatilization
Wastewater
Wastewater purification
Water absorption
Water purification
Water velocity
Online AccessGet full text
ISSN2050-7488
2050-7496
2050-7496
DOI10.1039/d1ta03014k

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Summary:Although solar steam generation is a promising water purification approach for alleviating the global shortage of clean water, the water evaporation rate of non-organic systems is still far from perfection. Herein, a vertically aligned reduced graphene oxide (V-RGO) foam with numerous vertical channels is fabricated as a solar-thermal energy converter for efficient solar steam generation. For the first time, dynamic compression is proven to be an efficient strategy to adjust the energy state of water in the pore channels of V-RGO foams. With an optimal compression, the vaporization enthalpy of water significantly decreases because of the increased proportion of intermediate water, resulting in a much faster water evaporation rate under solar-light irradiation. The average water evaporation rate under 1-sun irradiation reaches 3.39 kg m −2 h −1 , representing the highest value among those for inorganic materials reported previously. This dynamic compression provides a novel strategy for purification of wastewater and desalination of seawater. Dynamic compression is proven to be an efficient strategy to adjust the water energy state in the channels of V-RGO foams. The V-RGO foam with a compressive strain of 47.1% exhibits a water evaporation rate of 3.39 kg m −2 h −1 under 1-sun irradiation.
Bibliography:Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: AFM image of a GO sheet; SEM images of V-RGO; pore size distribution of V-RGO; optical images of the surfaces of the V-RGO; water absorption of the V-RGO; fitting curves of the energy region of O-H stretching mode; fitted curves of the melting behavior of ice and water frozen in V-RGO; schematic illustrating the three types of water; top surface temperatures of V-RGO hydrogel; photothermal performances; evaporation enthalpy of V-RGO; DSC curves of pure water and V-RGO hydrogel; simulation of temperature distribution and water velocity distribution; fractions of the three types of water; comparison of energy conversion performance. See DOI
10.1039/d1ta03014k
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ISSN:2050-7488
2050-7496
2050-7496
DOI:10.1039/d1ta03014k