A non-noble metal plasmonic photothermal nanoparticle floating device for efficient interface water evaporation

Abstract

The utilization of solar energy for steam generation presents an eco-friendly and sustainable strategy to address the challenges linked with water scarcity. Nevertheless, its widespread implementation in industrial production has been significantly hindered by the intrinsic limitation of low evaporation efficiency. Herein, we report a straightforward non-noble metal plasma photothermal floating device designed for interfacial water evaporation. Precisely, 3 mg of synthesized TiN nanoparticles was uniformly spin-coated on the carbonized wood dealt with hydrothermal reaction. The experimental results demonstrated a noteworthy photothermal water evaporation efficiency of 93.4% under the irradiation of 1 kW m⁻². Simultaneously, the device exhibited exceptional stable repeatability and salt resistance. The typical ion concentrations (Na⁺, K⁺, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺) before and after seawater evaporation were monitored and found to have a remarkable ion removal rate of 99.57% ~ 99.94%, which is even lower than the national drinking water hygiene standards. We firmly believe that our work could offers valuable insights for the advancement of large-scale seawater desalination and crystalline salt recovery applications.