MOF-based hierarchical structures for solar-thermal clean water production

• Main Authors: Ma, Qinglang, Yin, Pengfei, Zhao, Meiting, Luo, Zhiyong, Huang, Ying, He, Qiyuan, Yu, Yifu, Liu, Zhengqing, Hu, Zhaoning, Chen, Bo, Zhang, Hua
• Other Authors: School of Materials Science and Engineering
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2021
• Subjects: Engineering::Materials; Desalination; Hierarchical Structures
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/151600
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Solar-thermal water evaporation, as a promising method for clean water production, has attracted increasing attention. However, solar water evaporators that exhibit both high water vapor generation ability and anti-oil-fouling ability have not been reported. Here, a unique metal-organic-framework-based hierarchical structure, referred to as MOF-based hierarchical structure (MHS), is rationally designed and prepared, which simultaneously displays a high solar absorption and a superhydrophilic and underwater superoleophobic surface property. As a proof-of-concept application, a device prepared from the MHS can achieve a high solar-thermal water evaporation rate of 1.50 kg m-2 h-1 under 1 sun illumination. Importantly, the MHS also possesses an excellent anti-oil-fouling property, ensuring its superior water evaporation performance even in oil-contaminated water. The high solar-thermal water evaporation rate and anti-oil-fouling property make the MHS a promising material for the solar-thermal water production.