Valadez-Renteria E, Aldana I, Ayala-Fonseca A, Zamora J, Salas P, Oliva J
Tecnológico Nacional de México / ITS Zacatecas Occidente, Sombrerete, Zacatecas, 99100, Mexico.
Centro de Física Aplicada y Tecnología Avanzada, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Boulevard Juriquilla 3001, 76230, Querétaro, Mexico.
J Environ Manage. 2025 Apr;380:125124. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2025.125124. Epub 2025 Mar 26.
The utilization of solar evaporators to produce fresh water from seawater and from polluted water sources is a promising approach to palliate the global water shortage crisis. In this research, coconut/agave-fibers based 3D-sponges were used as biodegradable support to make solar evaporators. A graphene coating was deposited on the biodegradable sponges (FG evaporator) and was evaluated to desalinate seawater (from Puerto-Vallarta Beach, Mexico) under natural sunlight. This evaporator produced an evaporation-rate/evaporation-efficiency of 1.55 kg m·h/77.3 %. Next, a second evaporator was fabricated by depositing an extra layer of N-doped graphene (NG) on the graphene layer and this evaporator reached an evaporation-rate/evaporation-efficiency of 2.05 kg m·h/81.6 %. The evaporation-rate/evaporation-efficiency of the evaporators were enhanced even more (up to 2.32 kg m·h/89.4 %) after depositing MnCoGe (MCG) alloy particles instead of NG on the evaporators. Thus, the evaporation rate of the evaporator made with MCG was enhanced 32 % with respect to the evaporator made only with the graphene coating. All the evaporators were subjected to 10 consecutive cycles of use and the maximum reduction in the evaporation rate was 6 %. Later, tap water was contaminated with 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-DCP) herbicide (20 ppm). Next, this contaminated water was put in contact with the solar evaporator made with MCG alloy and it was completely decontaminated as confirmed by the UV-Vis spectra for the clean water. In general, adding the MCG alloy on the evaporators (previously coated with graphene), reduced the heat losses and the water enthalpy, which increased the evaporation rate of the water. The results of this investigation indicate that 3D graphene evaporators can be constructed on biodegradable fibers, which diminished the environmental impact of expired evaporators.
利用太阳能蒸发器从海水和受污染水源中制取淡水是缓解全球水资源短缺危机的一种很有前景的方法。在本研究中，以椰子/龙舌兰纤维为基础的三维海绵被用作可生物降解的支撑体来制作太阳能蒸发器。在可生物降解海绵（FG蒸发器）上沉积了一层石墨烯涂层，并对其在自然阳光下淡化海水（来自墨西哥巴亚尔塔港海滩）的性能进行了评估。该蒸发器的蒸发速率/蒸发效率为1.55 kg m·h/77.3%。接下来，通过在石墨烯层上额外沉积一层氮掺杂石墨烯（NG）制作了第二个蒸发器，该蒸发器的蒸发速率/蒸发效率达到了2.05 kg m·h/81.6%。在蒸发器上沉积MnCoGe（MCG）合金颗粒而非NG后，蒸发器的蒸发速率/蒸发效率进一步提高（高达2.32 kg m·h/89.4%）。因此，与仅涂有石墨烯涂层的蒸发器相比，用MCG制作的蒸发器的蒸发速率提高了32%。所有蒸发器都连续使用了10个循环，蒸发速率的最大降幅为6%。后来，用2,4-二氯苯氧乙酸（2,4-DCP）除草剂（20 ppm）污染了自来水。接下来，将这种受污染的水与用MCG合金制作的太阳能蒸发器接触，经清洁水的紫外-可见光谱证实，水被完全净化。总体而言，在蒸发器（先前涂有石墨烯）上添加MCG合金减少了热损失和水的焓，从而提高了水的蒸发速率。本研究结果表明，可以在可生物降解纤维上构建三维石墨烯蒸发器，这减少了过期蒸发器对环境的影响。
