Nature‐Inspired Structure‐Engineered TiN/TiO2 Nanotubes Array Toward Solar Desalination Synergy with Photothermal‐Enhanced Degradation and Thermoelectric Generation

Abstract

AbstractSolar‐driven interfacial evaporation systems are considered as promising technology to alleviate the water scarcity crisis, yet lack of innovative evaporators obstructs further improvement of energy utilization efficiency. Herein, inspired by mangrove, the structure‐engineered design is utilized to synthesis multi‐level reflection TiN/TiO2@carbon cloth (CC) nanotubes array. The hollowed TiO2 nanorods can promote expeditious water transport, while the TiN/TiO2 array can act as localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR)‐enhanced multi‐level reflection structure for solar energy harvesting. The enhanced light absorption capability of the bionic nanostructure is confirmed by finite‐difference time‐domain (FDTD) simulations. Therefore, the TiN/TiO2@CC‐3 exhibits high evaporation rate of 2.02 kg m−2 h−1 under 1 solar illumination, which is comparable or better than most of fabric‐based evaporators. When applied in wide acid–base (pH 1–13) and salinity range (8–100 ‰) over 15 days, the TiN/TiO2@CC‐3 displays outstanding durability. Furthermore, to expand application scope of the elaborate nanostructure, photothermal‐enhanced photocatalysis and thermoelectricity generation applications are evaluated, while these new functionalities are integrated into solar‐driven desalination system. The outdoor device exhibits daily water yield of 10.89 kg m−2, synergy with maximum 200.7 mV output voltage and high dye degradation efficiency, demonstrating flexible applications in multi‐functional interfacial evaporation systems according to various requirements.