Facile fabrication of polydopamine nanosphere-decorated fabric for solar steam generation

Solar steam generation has been regarded as a promising technology to obtain clean water from wastewater or seawater through converting incident sunlight to heat. Fabrics can be easily combined with many photothermal materials by various methods and possess a unique porous structure for efficient water transport and vapor diffusion. Herein, a solar steam generator with a rough surface based on novel polydopamine nanospheres grown onto fabric (PDANSs@fabric) is designed and fabricated by a one-step method. Consequently, the developed evaporator could achieve a water evaporation rate of 1.48 kg m(-2) h(-1) under 1 sun illumination. Moreover, the as-prepared PDANSs@fabric-based solar steam generator keeps a close level of water evaporation performance after washing for 30 min, exhibiting good stability and washability in steam generation. In addition, the designed evaporator can be applied in various water conditions, including seawater, dye wastewater and heavy metal ion wastewater, offering great inspiration in the ?elds of seawater desalination, wastewater treatment and energy collection.

Automated summary

In this study, a solar steam generator based on fabric, capable of converting sunlight into heat to obtain clean water from wastewater or seawater, was designed and fabricated. The developed evaporator achieved a high water evaporation rate under 1 sun illumination and maintained a similar performance level after washing. Furthermore, the designed evaporator showed great potential for application in various water conditions, offering inspiration in the fields of seawater desalination, wastewater treatment, and energy collection.