Conformal Microfluidic-Blow-Spun 3D Photothermal Catalytic Spherical Evaporator for Omnidirectional Enhanced Solar Steam Generation and CO2 Reduction

Solar-driven water evaporation and valuable fuel generation is an environmentally friendly and sustainable way for clean water and energy production. However, a few bottlenecks for practical applications are high-cost, low productivity, and severe sunlight angle dependence. Herein, solar evaporation with enhanced photocatalytic capacity that is light direction insensitive and of efficiency breakthrough by virtue of a three-dimensional (3D) photothermal catalytic spherical isotopic evaporator is demonstrated. A homogeneous layer of microfluidic blow spun polyamide nanofibers loaded with efficient light absorber of polypyrrole nanoparticles conformally wraps onto a lightweight, thermal insulating plastic sphere, featuring favorable interfacial solar heating and efficient water transportation. The 3D spherical geometry not only guarantees the omnidirectional solar absorbance by the light-facing hemisphere, but also keeps the other hemisphere under shadow to harvest energy from the warmer environment. As a result, the light-to-vapor efficiency exceeds the theoretical limit, reaching 217% and 156% under 1 and 2 sun, respectively. Simultaneously, CO2 photoreduction with generated steam reveals a favorable clean fuels production rate using photocatalytic spherical evaporator by secondary growth of Cu2O nanoparticles. Finally, an outdoor demonstration manifests a high evaporation rate and easy-to-perform construction on-site, providing a promising opportunity for efficient and decentralized water and clean fuel production.

Automated summary

Solar-driven water evaporation and fuel generation using a 3D photothermal catalytic spherical evaporator show enhanced efficiency due to omni-directional solar absorption and utilization of energy from the warmer environment. The technology combines efficient light absorbers, thermal insulation, and efficient water transportation to achieve high evaporation rates and clean fuel production.