Affiliation:
1. State Key Laboratory of Fine Chemicals School of Chemical Engineering, Ocean and Life Science Dalian University of Technology Dalian 116023 P. R. China
2. College of Materials and Chemistry China Jiliang University Hangzhou 310018 P. R. China
3. Graduate School of Life Science and Systems Engineering Kyushu Institute of Technology Kitakyushu Fukuoka 808‐0196 Japan
Abstract
Solar‐driven interfacial evaporation is one of the most promising technologies to address global freshwater shortages. Compared with the integrated structure, monolithic system with asymmetric wettability can be used alone to reduce the structural complexity without sacrificing the localized management of heat. Herein, a monolithic structure of Janus Fe3O4@IF evaporator with asymmetric wettability has been fabricated via a simple in situ hydrothermal method. The low‐cost Janus Fe3O4@IF evaporator can be self‐floating with a sizable surface area, high porosity, and low density, which presents excellent light absorption features of 98.1% within a broadband wavelength range of 200–2500 nm. Due to the strong capillarity action and Janus wettability, the evaporation is efficient (1.64 kg m−2 h−1) and stable even treating with highly concentrated brine of 20 wt%. This work demonstrates an effective strategy for achieving high‐performance solar‐driven interfacial evaporation and superior salt rejection capability, which can be potentially utilized in seawater desalination.
Funder
National Natural Science Foundation of China