Issue 3, 2018

A durable monolithic polymer foam for efficient solar steam generation

Abstract

Efficient and cost-effective solar steam generation requires self-floating evaporators which can convert light into heat, prevent unnecessary heat loss and greatly accelerate evaporation without solar concentrators. Currently, the most efficient evaporators (efficiency of ∼80% under 1 sun) are invariably built from inorganic materials, which are difficult to mold into monolithic sheets. Here, we present a new polymer which can be easily solution processed into a self-floating monolithic foam. The single-component foam can be used as an evaporator with an efficiency at 1 sun comparable to that of the best graphene-based evaporators. Even at 0.5 sun, the efficiency can reach 80%. Moreover, the foam is mechanically strong, thermally stable to 300 °C and chemically resistant to organic solvents.

Graphical abstract: A durable monolithic polymer foam for efficient solar steam generation

Associated articles

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
06 Jūl. 2017
Accepted
01 Nov. 2017
First published
01 Nov. 2017
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Chem. Sci., 2018,9, 623-628

A durable monolithic polymer foam for efficient solar steam generation

Q. Chen, Z. Pei, Y. Xu, Z. Li, Y. Yang, Y. Wei and Y. Ji, Chem. Sci., 2018, 9, 623 DOI: 10.1039/C7SC02967E

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