Issue

Vol. 14 (2022)

Nature Inspired MXene-Decorated 3D Honeycomb-Fabric Architectures Toward Efficient Water Desalination and Salt Harvesting

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-021-00748-7
Zhiwei Lei
College of Textiles and Clothing, State Key Laboratory of Bio‑Fibers and Eco‑Textiles, Research Center for Intelligent and Wearable Technology, Intelligent Wearable Engineering Research Center of Qingdao, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, People’s Republic of China
Xuantong Sun
Department of Materials, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
Shifeng Zhu
College of Textiles and Clothing, State Key Laboratory of Bio‑Fibers and Eco‑Textiles, Research Center for Intelligent and Wearable Technology, Intelligent Wearable Engineering Research Center of Qingdao, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, People’s Republic of China
Kai Dong
Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100083, People’s Republic of China
Xuqing Liu
Department of Materials, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
Lili Wang
College of Textiles and Clothing, State Key Laboratory of Bio‑Fibers and Eco‑Textiles, Research Center for Intelligent and Wearable Technology, Intelligent Wearable Engineering Research Center of Qingdao, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, People’s Republic of China
Xiansheng Zhang
College of Textiles and Clothing, State Key Laboratory of Bio‑Fibers and Eco‑Textiles, Research Center for Intelligent and Wearable Technology, Intelligent Wearable Engineering Research Center of Qingdao, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, People’s Republic of China
Lijun Qu
College of Textiles and Clothing, State Key Laboratory of Bio‑Fibers and Eco‑Textiles, Research Center for Intelligent and Wearable Technology, Intelligent Wearable Engineering Research Center of Qingdao, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, People’s Republic of China
Xueji Zhang
School of Biomedical Engineering, Health Science Center, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, People’s Republic of China

Corresponding Author: Xiansheng Zhang

xshzhang@qdu.edu.cn

Nano-Micro Letters, Vol. 14 (2022), Article Number: 10

Abstract

Solar steam generation technology has emerged as a promising approach for seawater desalination, wastewater purification, etc. However, simultaneously achieving superior light absorption, thermal management, and salt harvesting in an evaporator remains challenging. Here, inspired by nature, a 3D honeycomb-like fabric decorated with hydrophilic Ti3C2Tx (MXene) is innovatively designed and successfully woven as solar evaporator. The honeycomb structure with periodically concave arrays creates the maximum level of light-trapping by multiple scattering and omnidirectional light absorption, synergistically cooperating with light absorbance of MXene. The minimum thermal loss is available by constructing the localized photothermal generation, contributed by a thermal-insulating barrier connected with 1D water path, and the concave structure of efficiently recycling convective and radiative heat loss. The evaporator demonstrates high solar efficiency of up to 93.5% and evaporation rate of 1.62 kg m−2 h−1 under one sun irradiation. Moreover, assisted by a 1D water path in the center, the salt solution transporting in the evaporator generates a radial concentration gradient from the center to the edge so that the salt is crystallized at the edge even in 21% brine, enabling the complete separation of water/solute and efficient salt harvesting. This research provides a large-scale manufacturing route of high-performance solar steam generator.


Highlights:


1 The 3D honeycomb-like fabric decorated with MXene is woven as solar evaporator.
2 The honeycomb structure enables light-trapping and recycling of convective and radiative heat.
3 The 3D honeycomb-fabric evaporator possesses high solar efficiency up to 93.5% under 1 sun irradiation and excellent salt harvesting ability.

Keywords

3D honeycomb fabric MXene Photothermal conversion Water desalination Salt harvesting
Lei, Zhiwei, Xuantong Sun, Shifeng Zhu, Kai Dong, Xuqing Liu, Lili Wang, Xiansheng Zhang, Lijun Qu, and Xueji Zhang. 2021. “Nature Inspired MXene-Decorated 3D Honeycomb-Fabric Architectures Toward Efficient Water Desalination and Salt Harvesting”. Nano-Micro Letters 14 (December):10. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-021-00748-7.
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