1. The emerging development of solar evaporators in materials and structures.
- Author
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Yin, Qing, Zhang, Jingfa, Tao, Yubo, Kong, Fangong, and Li, Peng
- Subjects
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EVAPORATORS , *PHOTOTHERMAL conversion , *SOLAR thermal energy , *WATER efficiency , *SALINE water conversion , *WATER purification , *EVALUATION methodology - Abstract
To tackle the increasingly severe freshwater resource scarcity problem, desalination using solar evaporators is potentially an effective approach. This article reviews the research progress of solar evaporators in recent years, including materials, structures, and performance evaluations. In terms of material research, this article introduces the mechanism of photothermal conversion of metallic, semiconductor, polymeric, and carbon-based materials and their applications in the research of solar evaporators. The structure design of solar evaporators that can improve the photothermal conversion efficiency and water transport efficiency are summarized in detail. Regarding the evaluation of the evaporator performance, common evaluation methods for steam efficiency and environmental benefits of solar evaporators were introduced. Finally, this article analyzes the current problems of evaporators and proposes a prospect for the development of new types of high-efficiency evaporators. [Display omitted] • The research progress and hotspot about solar evaporators are summarized. • The advantages of different materials and structures are compared. • By comparison, the development direction of solar evaporator in the future is prospected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022
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