Anukunwithaya Patsaya, Liu Nanxue, Liu Siqi, Thanayupong Eknarin, Zhou Lili, Pimpha Nuttaporn, Min Jiakang, Chinsirikul Wannee, Thitsartarn Warintorn, Koh J Justin, He Chaobin
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National University of Singapore, 9 Engineering Drive 1, Singapore 117575, Republic of Singapore; National Nanotechnology Center, National Science and Technology Development Agency, Thailand Science Park, Phahonyothin Road, Khlong Nueng, Khlong Luang, Pathum Thani, 12120, Thailand.
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National University of Singapore, 9 Engineering Drive 1, Singapore 117575, Republic of Singapore.
Carbohydr Polym. 2024 Sep 15;340:122304. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2024.122304. Epub 2024 May 23.
The high vaporization enthalpy of water attributed to the strong hydrogen bonds between water molecules is limiting the performance of solar evaporators. This work demonstrates a deliberate attempt to significantly reduce the vaporization enthalpy of water through the introduction of weak water-amine hydrogen bond interactions in hydrogel evaporators. In this article, bio-based chitosan-agarose/multiwalled carbon nanotube hydrogel film evaporators (CAMFEs) exhibit larger vaporization enthalpy reduction with the presence of primary amine groups in chitosan. An interplay between vaporization enthalpy reduction and water diffusivity leads to an optimal ratio of chitosan to agarose = 7:1 (CAMFE7) showing an impressive evaporation rate of 4.13 kg m h under 1 sun irradiation. CAMFE7 also exhibits excellent salt resistance, with a stable water evaporation rate, using brine water of up to 10 % salinity under continuous 1 sun irradiation. The high mechanical robustness together with its scalability makes CAMFE7 a highly promising material for practical drinking water production.
水分子之间强大的氢键导致水具有较高的汽化焓，这限制了太阳能蒸发器的性能。这项工作展示了一种有意的尝试，即通过在水凝胶蒸发器中引入弱的水 - 胺氢键相互作用来显著降低水的汽化焓。在本文中，基于生物的壳聚糖 - 琼脂糖/多壁碳纳米管水凝胶薄膜蒸发器（CAMFEs）由于壳聚糖中存在伯胺基团而表现出更大程度的汽化焓降低。汽化焓降低与水扩散率之间的相互作用导致壳聚糖与琼脂糖的最佳比例为7:1（CAMFE7），在1个太阳辐照下显示出令人印象深刻的4.13 kg m⁻² h⁻¹的蒸发速率。在连续1个太阳辐照下，使用盐度高达10%的盐水时，CAMFE7还表现出优异的耐盐性，具有稳定的水蒸发速率。高机械强度及其可扩展性使CAMFE7成为实际饮用水生产中极具前景的材料。
