Recent innovations in 3D solar evaporators and their functionalities.

Sci Bull (Beijing)

Future Industries Institute, UniSA STEM, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes Campus, Adelaide, SA 5095, Australia. Electronic address:

Published: November 2024

AI Article Synopsis

  • Interfacial solar evaporation (ISE) is a promising technology aimed at addressing global water scarcity by efficiently purifying wastewater and seawater.
  • The transition from two-dimensional (2D) to three-dimensional (3D) evaporators has led to significant improvements in evaporation rates and added functionalities.
  • This review highlights recent advances in the design, fabrication, and energy efficiency of 3D evaporators, along with future research opportunities to enhance solar evaporation performance and applications.

Article Abstract

Interfacial solar evaporation (ISE) has emerged as a promising technology to alleviate global water scarcity via energy-efficient purification of both wastewater and seawater. While ISE was originally identified and developed during studies of simple double-layered two-dimensional (2D) evaporators, observed limitations in evaporation rate and functionality soon led to the development of three-dimensional (3D) evaporators, which is now recognized as one of the most pivotal milestones in the research field. 3D evaporators significantly enhance the evaporation rates beyond the theoretical limits of 2D evaporators. Furthermore, 3D evaporators could have multifaceted functionalities originating from various functional evaporation surfaces and 3D structures. This review summarizes recent advances in 3D evaporators, focusing on rational design, fabrication and energy nexus of 3D evaporators, and the derivative functions for improving solar evaporation performance and exploring novel applications. Future research prospects are also proposed based on the in-depth understanding of the fundamental aspects of 3D evaporators and the requirements for practical applications.

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Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scib.2024.09.015DOI Listing

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