Xu Chengjian, Zhang Junyan, Shahriari-Khalaji Mina, Gao Mengyue, Yu Xiaoxiao, Ye Changhuai, Cheng Yanhua, Zhu Meifang
State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai, China.
Front Chem. 2022 Feb 14;10:843070. doi: 10.3389/fchem.2022.843070. eCollection 2022.
Solar-driven vapor generation is emerging as an eco-friendly and cost-effective water treatment technology for harvesting solar energy. Aerogels are solid materials with desirable high-performance properties, including low density, low thermal conductivity, and high porosity with a large internal surface, which exhibit outstanding performance in the area of solar vapor generation. Using fibers as building blocks in aerogels could achieve unexpected performance in solar vapor generation due to their entangled fibrous network and high surface area. In this review, based on the fusion of the one-dimensional fibers and three-dimensional porous aerogels, we discuss recent development in fibrous aerogels for solar vapor generation based on building blocks synthesis, photothermal materials selection, pore structures construction and device design. Thermal management and water management of fibrous aerogels are also evaluated to improve evaporation performance. Focusing on materials science and engineering, we overview the key challenges and future research opportunities of fibrous aerogels in both fundamental research and practical application of solar vapor generation technology.
太阳能驱动的蒸汽发生作为一种用于收集太阳能的环保且经济高效的水处理技术正在兴起。气凝胶是具有理想高性能特性的固体材料,包括低密度、低导热率和具有大内部表面积的高孔隙率,在太阳能蒸汽发生领域表现出卓越性能。由于其缠结的纤维网络和高表面积,在气凝胶中使用纤维作为构建单元在太阳能蒸汽发生方面可实现意想不到的性能。在本综述中,基于一维纤维和三维多孔气凝胶的融合,我们讨论了基于构建单元合成、光热材料选择、孔结构构建和器件设计的用于太阳能蒸汽发生的纤维气凝胶的最新进展。还评估了纤维气凝胶的热管理和水管理以提高蒸发性能。着眼于材料科学与工程,我们概述了纤维气凝胶在太阳能蒸汽发生技术的基础研究和实际应用中的关键挑战和未来研究机会。