Scalable carbon black deposited fabric/hydrogel composites for affordable solar-driven water purification

doi:10.1016/j.jmst.2021.07.032

Abstract

Abstract:

Interfacial solar-driven evaporators have presented great potential for water purification owing to their low energy consumption and high steam generation efficiency. However, their further applications are hindered by the high costs and complicated fabrication processes. Here, a scalable bilayer interfacial evaporator was constructed via an affordable technique, in which carbon black deposited nonwoven fabric (CB@NF) was employed as the upper photothermal layer, as well as PVA/starch hybrid hydrogel for self-floating and water transport. Under simulated one sun irradiation, CB@NF layer displayed excellent photothermal conversion performance, whose temperature could increase 30.4 °C within 15 min. Moreover, the introduction of starch into PVA endowed the hybrid hydrogels with considerable water-absorption capability on the premise of ensuring mechanical properties. The resultant CB@NF/PVA/starch composites achieved superior interfacial adhesion performance with interfacial toughness at about 200 J m^-2. Combining with good evaporation performance, salt-rejection property and high purification efficiency on pollutants, this evaporation system would become a promising candidate to alleviate water shortage.

Key words: Fabric/hydrogel composite, Interfacial solar-driven evaporation, Water purification

Ying Guo, Congqi Li, Peiling Wei, Kai Hou, Meifang Zhu. Scalable carbon black deposited fabric/hydrogel composites for affordable solar-driven water purification[J]. J. Mater. Sci. Technol., 2022, 106: 10-18.

Figures/Tables 7

Table 1. The nomenclature and components of fabric samples.

Sample	CB(g)	CNF(g)	Water(g)
NF	0.000	0.0	15
CB_0.14@NF	0.025	2.5	15
CB_0.25@NF	0.050	5.0	15
CB_0.33@NF	0.075	7.5	15
CB_0.40@NF	0.100	10.0	15

Table 2. The nomenclature and components of hydrogel samples.

Sample	10 wt.% PVA solution(g)	10 wt.% starch solution(g)
PVA	30.0	0.0
P₈S₂	24.0	6.0
P₆S₄	18.0	12.0
P₄S₆	12.0	18.0
P₂S₈	6.0	24.0
starch	0.0	30.0

Fig. 1. Schematic illustration for the fabrication process of bilayer CB@NF/PVA/starch composites.

Fig. 2. Construction of the bilayer CB@NF/PVA/starch composites. (a) Digital photographs of bilayer CB0.33@NF/P6S4 composites taken from the top (ⅰ) and side view (ⅱ). (b) SEM images of CB0.33@NF (ⅰ, ⅱ) and its contact angle (inserts), as well as P6S4 hydrogel (ⅲ, ⅳ) with different magnifications. (c) UV-Vis-NIR spectra of CB@NF. (d) IR images of fabrics with varied CB contents under 1 sun illumination within 15 min. (e) Weight and dimensional equilibrium swelling ratio of as-prepared hydrogels after 72 h. (f) Cyclic stress-strain curves of P6S4 hydrogel at 50% compressive strain.

Fig. 3. Interfacial bonding performance of the bilayer CB@NF/PVA/starch composites. (a) The cross-section image about the interface of CB0.33@NF and P6S4. (b) Illustrations for the interfacial bonding mechanism between the fabric and PVA/starch hydrogel. (c) Photographs for the fabric-hydrogel interface during peeling process. (d) Schematic of the 180° peeling test for bilayer composites. (e) Curves of peeling forces per width versus displacement and (f) calculated interfacial toughness for P6S4 hydrogels bonded with various CB@NF.

Fig. 4. Solar steam generation performance of bilayer evaporator under 1 sun irradiation. (a) Image of self-floating CB0.33@NF/P6S4 evaporator (i) and schematic diagram of the self-made simulated solar evaporation device (ii). (b) Vapor generation mechanism based on CB0.33@NF/P6S4 evaporator. (c) The surface temperature profiles and (d) evaporation mass change of different evaporation systems over time. (e) Average evaporation rate under different systems after 1 h irradiation. (f) The evaporation rate of CB0.33@P6S4 after 1 h and 15 h irradiation, respectively.

Fig. 5. Water purification performance of bilayer evaporator. (a) Metal ions removal capability of CB0.33@NF/P6S4 for actual seawater (from the Yellow Sea, China) and simulated solution. (b) Real-time photographs for salt-rejecting progression under 1 sun illumination. (c) Optical images and (d) UV-Vis absorption spectra of Congo red, methylene blue, O/W emulsion and corresponding purified water.

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