Simple preparation of external-shape and internal-channel size adjustable porous hydrogels by fermentation for efficient solar interfacial evaporation

[Display omitted] •Fermentation is extremely efficient at preparing porous materials on a large scale.•The pore size of FPHs made under mild conditions can be easily adjusted by time.•FPH-30 exhibits high evaporation rate of 1.594 kg m−2 h−1 and η of 95.15%.•FPHs show excellent composite and mechani...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Solar energy 2020-09, Vol.208, p.778-786
Main Authors: Liang, Xuechen, Zhang, Xinjie, Huang, Qichen, Zhang, Han, Liu, Changkun, Liu, Yizhen
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Castability
Construction materials
Evaporation
Evaporation rate
Fermentation
Freeze-thawing
Hydrogels
Light intensity
Luminous intensity
Photothermal evaporation
Porous hydrogel
Seawater
Size-adjustability
Solar energy
Thawing
Water pollution
Water purification
Water shortages
Water supply
Water treatment
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Summary:[Display omitted] •Fermentation is extremely efficient at preparing porous materials on a large scale.•The pore size of FPHs made under mild conditions can be easily adjusted by time.•FPH-30 exhibits high evaporation rate of 1.594 kg m−2 h−1 and η of 95.15%.•FPHs show excellent composite and mechanical stability, and self-cleaning property. Solar interfacial evaporation is a promising technology for the purification of seawater and polluted water using sustainable solar energy. An adjustable shape and internal-channel size of photothermal evaporation material are essential for regulating heat utilization and water supply rate to three-dimensional (3D) evaporation device. However, a simple method for the preparation process is rarely reported to date. Inspired by bread making, a straightforward fermentation method is applied to the preparation of adjustable porous hydrogel as photothermal evaporation materials. It only takes 40 min to ferment and three simple freeze-thawing cycles to construct the final hydrogel materials. A mold can be used to easily adjust the external shape of the fermentation porous hydrogels (FPHs). The internal-channel size of FPHs can be simply tuned by the fermentation time. The flexible porous structure endows FPHs with excellent photothermal evaporation capability and makes it easy to meet the requirements of water supply rates under the light intensity of different latitudes for water treatment.
ISSN:0038-092X
1471-1257
DOI:10.1016/j.solener.2020.08.038