Robust organic radical cations with near-unity absorption across solar spectrum
Abstract Developing low-energy-gap materials for efficient photothermal conversion provides promising candidates for solar energy utilization. Herein, we explore the feasibility of employing robust organic radical cations as near-unity solar absorbers for practical seawater evaporation. Gram-scale o...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-62581-5 |
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| author | Shuai Zhang Wenbin Huang Yuxin Zhu Jian Wang Feng Cao Qian Zhang Engui Zhao Zikai He |
| author_facet | Shuai Zhang Wenbin Huang Yuxin Zhu Jian Wang Feng Cao Qian Zhang Engui Zhao Zikai He |
| author_sort | Shuai Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Developing low-energy-gap materials for efficient photothermal conversion provides promising candidates for solar energy utilization. Herein, we explore the feasibility of employing robust organic radical cations as near-unity solar absorbers for practical seawater evaporation. Gram-scale organic radical cations are straightforwardly synthesized through single-electron oxidation. The open-shell structure and intervalence charge-transfer characteristics of radicals enable near-unity absorption of full solar spectral irradiance. Femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy reveals that the intervalence charge-transfer electron relaxes non-radiatively in femtoseconds, with a rapid rate of 5.26 × 1012 s−1. Notably, the radical cations exhibit exceptional stability, attributed to para-position protection, spin delocalization, and frontier orbital inversion. By simply soaking cellulose paper, a highly efficient interfacial evaporation system is established. Under one sunlight irradiation, the system achieves a remarkable solar-to-vapor conversion efficiency of 97.2%. This work offers new perspectives on designing robust radical systems and developing efficient photothermal conversion materials. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-a38db162e4464bc19905472e33cbd888 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-a38db162e4464bc19905472e33cbd8882025-08-20T03:43:10ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-08-0116111310.1038/s41467-025-62581-5Robust organic radical cations with near-unity absorption across solar spectrumShuai Zhang0Wenbin Huang1Yuxin Zhu2Jian Wang3Feng Cao4Qian Zhang5Engui Zhao6Zikai He7School of Science, School of Materials Science and Engineering, School of Biomedical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, ShenzhenSchool of Science, School of Materials Science and Engineering, School of Biomedical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, ShenzhenSchool of Science, School of Materials Science and Engineering, School of Biomedical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, ShenzhenSchool of Science, School of Materials Science and Engineering, School of Biomedical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, ShenzhenSchool of Science, School of Materials Science and Engineering, School of Biomedical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, ShenzhenSchool of Science, School of Materials Science and Engineering, School of Biomedical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, ShenzhenSchool of Science, School of Materials Science and Engineering, School of Biomedical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, ShenzhenSchool of Science, School of Materials Science and Engineering, School of Biomedical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, ShenzhenAbstract Developing low-energy-gap materials for efficient photothermal conversion provides promising candidates for solar energy utilization. Herein, we explore the feasibility of employing robust organic radical cations as near-unity solar absorbers for practical seawater evaporation. Gram-scale organic radical cations are straightforwardly synthesized through single-electron oxidation. The open-shell structure and intervalence charge-transfer characteristics of radicals enable near-unity absorption of full solar spectral irradiance. Femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy reveals that the intervalence charge-transfer electron relaxes non-radiatively in femtoseconds, with a rapid rate of 5.26 × 1012 s−1. Notably, the radical cations exhibit exceptional stability, attributed to para-position protection, spin delocalization, and frontier orbital inversion. By simply soaking cellulose paper, a highly efficient interfacial evaporation system is established. Under one sunlight irradiation, the system achieves a remarkable solar-to-vapor conversion efficiency of 97.2%. This work offers new perspectives on designing robust radical systems and developing efficient photothermal conversion materials.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-62581-5 |
| spellingShingle | Shuai Zhang Wenbin Huang Yuxin Zhu Jian Wang Feng Cao Qian Zhang Engui Zhao Zikai He Robust organic radical cations with near-unity absorption across solar spectrum Nature Communications |
| title | Robust organic radical cations with near-unity absorption across solar spectrum |
| title_full | Robust organic radical cations with near-unity absorption across solar spectrum |
| title_fullStr | Robust organic radical cations with near-unity absorption across solar spectrum |
| title_full_unstemmed | Robust organic radical cations with near-unity absorption across solar spectrum |
| title_short | Robust organic radical cations with near-unity absorption across solar spectrum |
| title_sort | robust organic radical cations with near unity absorption across solar spectrum |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-62581-5 |
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