Zhao Zebin, Wang Wenxuan, Ba Zhichen, Zhang Yuze, Xu Hongbo, Liang Daxin
Key Laboratory of Bio-Based Material Science and Technology (Ministry of Education), Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China.
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China.
Biomimetics (Basel). 2025 May 20;10(5):334. doi: 10.3390/biomimetics10050334.
An efficient solar water evaporator is an important strategy for addressing the problem of water shortage. Constructing high-performance solar interfacial evaporators through bionic design has become a crucial approach for performance enhancement. Through the study of zebra patterns, it has been found that the black-and-white alternating patterns generate vortices on the surface of the zebra's skin, thereby reducing the temperature. By utilizing the vortices brought about by the temperature difference, the design of a solar water evaporator is created based on the bionic zebra pattern, so as to improve its water evaporation performance. In this work, green and sustainable wood is used as the base of the evaporator, and the bionic design of zebra stripes is adopted. Meanwhile, the following research is conducted: The wood is cut into thin slices with dimensions of 30 × 30 × 5 mm, and a delignification treatment is performed. Tannic acid-Fe ions are used as the photothermal material for functionalization. A series of stable patterned water evaporators based on delignification wood loaded with tannic acid-Fe ion complex (TA-Fe) are successfully prepared. Among them, the wood-based solar water evaporator with 3 mm zebra stripes exhibits excellent photothermal water evaporation performance, achieving a water evaporation rate of 1.44 kg·m·h under the illumination intensity of one sun. Its water evaporation performance is significantly superior to that of other coating patterns, proving that the bionic design of zebra patterns is effective and can improve water evaporation efficiency. This work provides new insights into the development of safe and environmentally friendly solar interfacial water evaporation materials through bionic design.
高效的太阳能水蒸发器是解决水资源短缺问题的重要策略。通过仿生设计构建高性能太阳能界面蒸发器已成为提高性能的关键途径。通过对斑马条纹图案的研究发现，黑白交替图案会在斑马皮肤表面产生漩涡，从而降低温度。利用温差产生的漩涡，基于仿生斑马图案设计了一种太阳能水蒸发器，以提高其水蒸发性能。在这项工作中，使用绿色可持续的木材作为蒸发器的基底，并采用斑马条纹的仿生设计。同时，进行了以下研究：将木材切割成尺寸为30×30×5mm的薄片，并进行脱木质素处理。使用单宁酸 - 铁离子作为光热材料进行功能化处理。成功制备了一系列基于负载单宁酸 - 铁离子络合物（TA - Fe）的脱木质素木材的稳定图案化水蒸发器。其中，具有3mm斑马条纹的木质太阳能水蒸发器表现出优异的光热水蒸发性能，在一个太阳光照强度下实现了1.44kg·m⁻²·h的水蒸发速率。其水蒸发性能明显优于其他涂层图案，证明了斑马图案的仿生设计是有效的，能够提高水蒸发效率。这项工作通过仿生设计为开发安全环保的太阳能界面水蒸发材料提供了新的见解。
