Multi-bionic Strategies Integration in Cellulose Nanofiber-Based Metagels with Strong Hydrogen-Bonded Network for Solar-Driven Water Evaporation

IF 21.3 1区工程技术 Q1 MATERIALS SCIENCE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY

Advanced Fiber Materials Pub Date : 2025-03-18 DOI:10.1007/s42765-025-00517-w

Dan Wang, Ruofei Zhu, Xueyan Tang, Jun Yan Tan, Hong Li, Yang Chen, Zijiao Lin, Xin Xia, Shaohai Fu

{"title":"Multi-bionic Strategies Integration in Cellulose Nanofiber-Based Metagels with Strong Hydrogen-Bonded Network for Solar-Driven Water Evaporation","authors":"Dan Wang, Ruofei Zhu, Xueyan Tang, Jun Yan Tan, Hong Li, Yang Chen, Zijiao Lin, Xin Xia, Shaohai Fu","doi":"10.1007/s42765-025-00517-w","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Although the application of solar-driven interfacial evaporation technology in the field of seawater desalination has seen rapid progress in recent years, mediocre water evaporation rates remain a longstanding bottleneck. The key to resolving this bottleneck is leveraging strong hydrogen bonding to reduce the enthalpy of evaporation for water molecules and inputting environmental energy. This study presents a novel approach for reducing the enthalpy of vaporization by introducing a hydrophilic inorganic material Al(H<sub>2</sub>PO<sub>4</sub>)<sub>3</sub> (AP) on the surface of cellulose nanofibers (CNF) to form an inorganic‒organic hydrogen-bonded network in cellulose-based hydrogels (labeled 3DL Metagel). This network structure accelerates the diffusion of water molecules between CNF, as confirmed by molecular dynamics simulations. Specifically, inspired by multiple biological traits found in nature, the 3DL Metagel evaporator integrates a lotus shape, Janus wettability (the superhydrophilic lotus-like flower with hydrophobic lotus-like leaves) and plant transpiration, resulting in superior water evaporation rates of up to 3.61 kg·m<sup>−2</sup>·h<sup>−1</sup> under 1.0 solar radiation (exceeding the limit of two-dimensional evaporators). The unique lotus shape enables 3DL Metagel to draw additional energy from the environment during desalination, resulting in a maximum water evaporation efficiency of 94.94%. The dual porous structure with Janus wettability endows the evaporator with self-floating ability and a unidirectional salt ion reflux channel during the evaporation process, providing a salt-resistant technology for seawater desalination. Noteworthy, evaporator can be used for efficient outdoor water purification in arid areas with extremely low humidity and is biodegradable and biocompatible. The integration of an inorganic‒organic hydrogen-bonded cross-linked network and biomimetic features achieves high-efficiency photothermal water evaporation, offering novel insights for the rational design of efficient evaporators for solar desalination and wastewater purification.</p><h3>Graphical Abstract</h3><div><figure><div><div><picture><source><img></source></picture></div></div></figure></div></div>","PeriodicalId":459,"journal":{"name":"Advanced Fiber Materials","volume":"7 3","pages":"748 - 761"},"PeriodicalIF":21.3000,"publicationDate":"2025-03-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Advanced Fiber Materials","FirstCategoryId":"88","ListUrlMain":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s42765-025-00517-w","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"MATERIALS SCIENCE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Although the application of solar-driven interfacial evaporation technology in the field of seawater desalination has seen rapid progress in recent years, mediocre water evaporation rates remain a longstanding bottleneck. The key to resolving this bottleneck is leveraging strong hydrogen bonding to reduce the enthalpy of evaporation for water molecules and inputting environmental energy. This study presents a novel approach for reducing the enthalpy of vaporization by introducing a hydrophilic inorganic material Al(H₂PO₄)₃ (AP) on the surface of cellulose nanofibers (CNF) to form an inorganic‒organic hydrogen-bonded network in cellulose-based hydrogels (labeled 3DL Metagel). This network structure accelerates the diffusion of water molecules between CNF, as confirmed by molecular dynamics simulations. Specifically, inspired by multiple biological traits found in nature, the 3DL Metagel evaporator integrates a lotus shape, Janus wettability (the superhydrophilic lotus-like flower with hydrophobic lotus-like leaves) and plant transpiration, resulting in superior water evaporation rates of up to 3.61 kg·m⁻²·h⁻¹ under 1.0 solar radiation (exceeding the limit of two-dimensional evaporators). The unique lotus shape enables 3DL Metagel to draw additional energy from the environment during desalination, resulting in a maximum water evaporation efficiency of 94.94%. The dual porous structure with Janus wettability endows the evaporator with self-floating ability and a unidirectional salt ion reflux channel during the evaporation process, providing a salt-resistant technology for seawater desalination. Noteworthy, evaporator can be used for efficient outdoor water purification in arid areas with extremely low humidity and is biodegradable and biocompatible. The integration of an inorganic‒organic hydrogen-bonded cross-linked network and biomimetic features achieves high-efficiency photothermal water evaporation, offering novel insights for the rational design of efficient evaporators for solar desalination and wastewater purification.

Graphical Abstract

查看原文本刊更多论文

基于纤维素纳米纤维强氢键网络的多仿生策略集成太阳能驱动水蒸发

近年来，虽然太阳能驱动界面蒸发技术在海水淡化领域的应用取得了快速进展，但水蒸发速率一般仍然是一个长期存在的瓶颈。解决这一瓶颈的关键是利用强氢键来降低水分子的蒸发焓，并输入环境能量。本研究提出了一种降低蒸发焓的新方法，通过在纤维素纳米纤维（CNF）表面引入亲水无机材料Al(H2PO4)3 (AP)，在纤维素基水凝胶（标记为3DL Metagel）中形成无机-有机氢键网络。分子动力学模拟证实，这种网络结构加速了水分子在CNF之间的扩散。具体来说，3DL Metagel蒸发器的灵感来自于自然界中发现的多种生物特性，它将莲花形状、Janus润湿性（超亲水的莲花状花和疏水的莲花状叶子）和植物蒸腾作用结合在一起，在1.0太阳辐射下（超过二维蒸发器的极限），水的蒸发速率高达3.61 kg·m−2·h−1。独特的莲花形状使3DL Metagel能够在海水淡化过程中从环境中获取额外的能量，从而使水蒸发效率最高达到94.94%。具有Janus润湿性的双孔结构使蒸发器具有自浮能力和蒸发过程中单向盐离子回流通道，为海水淡化提供了一种耐盐技术。值得注意的是，蒸发器可用于极低湿度干旱地区的高效室外水净化，具有可生物降解和生物相容性。将无机-有机氢键交联网络与仿生特性相结合，实现了高效光热水蒸发，为太阳能海水淡化和废水净化高效蒸发器的合理设计提供了新的见解。图形抽象

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Advanced Fiber Materials Multiple-

CiteScore

18.70

自引率

11.20%

发文量

109

期刊介绍： Advanced Fiber Materials is a hybrid, peer-reviewed, international and interdisciplinary research journal which aims to publish the most important papers in fibers and fiber-related devices as well as their applications.Indexed by SCIE, EI, Scopus et al. Publishing on fiber or fiber-related materials, technology, engineering and application.