Polymer gels for solar-driven interfacial evaporation

Solar-driven interfacial evaporation (SDIE), with merits of high evaporation efficiency, rapid response time, minimal pollution and straightforward system, has emerged as a promising approach to address the critical issue of freshwater scarcity. Among the various materials investigated, polymer-base...

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Main Authors: Ningning Ma, Ning’er Xie, Naifang Zhang, Xiangjiu Guan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-01-01
Series:Next Materials
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949822824003307
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author Ningning Ma
Ning’er Xie
Naifang Zhang
Xiangjiu Guan
author_facet Ningning Ma
Ning’er Xie
Naifang Zhang
Xiangjiu Guan
author_sort Ningning Ma
collection DOAJ
description Solar-driven interfacial evaporation (SDIE), with merits of high evaporation efficiency, rapid response time, minimal pollution and straightforward system, has emerged as a promising approach to address the critical issue of freshwater scarcity. Among the various materials investigated, polymer-based gels have emerged as excellent candidate for solar evaporation. Based on the highly tunable molecular structures, interconnected porous channels, and inherent hydrophilicity, polymer gel could efficiently convert the absorbed sunlight into heat via incorporating light-absorbing particles or molecules into the gel matrix, hence promoting rapid evaporation. This review provides an overview of polymer gels in the field of interfacial evaporation, focusing on the structure regulation, crosslinking mechanism and design strategies for solar evaporators. The research progress on applications of polymer-based gels is also discussed, including seawater desalination, wastewater treatment, water-electricity co-production, water-hydrogen co-production and the extraction of rare metals. Additionally, the challenges and opportunities for polymer-based solar evaporators are addressed in the context of sustainable development.
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spelling doaj-art-4cfd84e24dbe4dc1bd922489ba774ab72025-08-20T03:02:07ZengElsevierNext Materials2949-82282025-01-01610043210.1016/j.nxmate.2024.100432Polymer gels for solar-driven interfacial evaporationNingning Ma0Ning’er Xie1Naifang Zhang2Xiangjiu Guan3International Research Center for Renewable Energy, State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow in Power Engineering, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, ChinaInternational Research Center for Renewable Energy, State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow in Power Engineering, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, ChinaInternational Research Center for Renewable Energy, State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow in Power Engineering, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, ChinaCorresponding author.; International Research Center for Renewable Energy, State Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow in Power Engineering, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, ChinaSolar-driven interfacial evaporation (SDIE), with merits of high evaporation efficiency, rapid response time, minimal pollution and straightforward system, has emerged as a promising approach to address the critical issue of freshwater scarcity. Among the various materials investigated, polymer-based gels have emerged as excellent candidate for solar evaporation. Based on the highly tunable molecular structures, interconnected porous channels, and inherent hydrophilicity, polymer gel could efficiently convert the absorbed sunlight into heat via incorporating light-absorbing particles or molecules into the gel matrix, hence promoting rapid evaporation. This review provides an overview of polymer gels in the field of interfacial evaporation, focusing on the structure regulation, crosslinking mechanism and design strategies for solar evaporators. The research progress on applications of polymer-based gels is also discussed, including seawater desalination, wastewater treatment, water-electricity co-production, water-hydrogen co-production and the extraction of rare metals. Additionally, the challenges and opportunities for polymer-based solar evaporators are addressed in the context of sustainable development.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949822824003307Polymer gelsSolar-driven interfacial evaporationDesalination
spellingShingle Ningning Ma
Ning’er Xie
Naifang Zhang
Xiangjiu Guan
Polymer gels for solar-driven interfacial evaporation
Next Materials
Polymer gels
Solar-driven interfacial evaporation
Desalination
title Polymer gels for solar-driven interfacial evaporation
title_full Polymer gels for solar-driven interfacial evaporation
title_fullStr Polymer gels for solar-driven interfacial evaporation
title_full_unstemmed Polymer gels for solar-driven interfacial evaporation
title_short Polymer gels for solar-driven interfacial evaporation
title_sort polymer gels for solar driven interfacial evaporation
topic Polymer gels
Solar-driven interfacial evaporation
Desalination
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949822824003307
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AT ningerxie polymergelsforsolardriveninterfacialevaporation
AT naifangzhang polymergelsforsolardriveninterfacialevaporation
AT xiangjiuguan polymergelsforsolardriveninterfacialevaporation