In situ synthesizing C-CuO composite for efficient photo-thermal conversion and its application in solar-driven interfacial evaporation

In this work, we in situ synthesized C-CuO composite by a facile solid phase grinding for efficient photo-thermal conversion. Moreover, surface morphology, hydrophilicity property, light absorption characteristic, and evaporation performance were investigated on C-CuO membrane. It can be seen that C-CuO composite was well dispersed on the membrane, prompting light harvesting and intentionally encouraging water evaporation. The surface hydrophilicity assisted valid water flow by the membrane toward the heat localization zone and smooth steam escape. At a calcination temperature of 250 degrees C and a mass ratio of 1:1 regarding the preparation of C-CuO composite, surface temperature of C-CuO membrane reached to the maximum value around 87.4 degrees C, noticeably stimulating the conversion of water to vapor. Further, the evaporation system with 0.015 g C-CuO composite loading possessed top-quality evaporation performance with superior recyclability, which mirrored to 92.6% evaporation efficiency and 1.34 kg m(-2) hours(-1) evaporation rate after 30 minutes exposure to light, respectively. Our work suggested that in situ synthesized C-CuO composite was regarded as a potential alternative for clean water production by solar-driven interfacial evaporation.

Automated summary

In this study, a C-CuO composite was synthesized on a membrane by a facile solid phase grinding method, and its performance on the membrane was investigated. The high-quality evaporation performance and efficient evaporation rate of this composite provide a potential alternative for solar-driven clean water production.