Abstract
Highly charged solar evaporator for in-situ freshwater and power generation excluding volatile ammonia using Donnan exclusion strategy by optimizing positive charge density. The multi-functional solar evaporator yields ∼14.66 kg m−2 freshwater from wastewater, and the complementary thermoelectric generator achieved a power density of ∼45.4 Wm−2 along with solar to electric conversion efficiency (γ = 2.27%).
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•Highly charged nanospheres for in-situ freshwater and power generation excluding Ammonia ions by Donnan exclusion strategy.•14.66 kg m−2 freshwater from Shahu lake water/NH4Cl·H2O (25 wt%) slurry during 8 hrs under natural sunlight.•Simultaneous waste heat recovery into thermoelectric power generation (Pout ∼ 45.4 Wm−2).•Solar to electric conversion efficiency (γ = 2.27 %) under 2 kW m−2 solar irradiations.
Hybrid solar-driven interfacial evaporation (HSDIE) systems are promising solar technologies for simultaneous freshwater and power generation. However, lower efficiencies due to inevitable heat losses, salt accumulation, and volatile organic impurities are detrimental to the sustainability of solar evaporators that limit their practical applications. Herein, we report a highly charged solar evaporator for in-situ freshwater and power generation developed by a UV-induced deposition of Fe3O4@PPy nanospheres anchored on a self-floating cellulose evaporator. The endowment of synergic resistance of ammonium (NH4+) ions is significantly increased by optimizing the positive charge density of R-NH+ groups by the Donnan exclusion without sacrificing the evaporation rates (1.98 kg m−2h−1) using Shahu Lake water/NH4Cl·H2O (25 wt%) slurry. The state-of-the-art investigations validate the long-term stability without any salt accumulation under natural conditions (mass change, 14.66 kg m−2/8 hrs). More importantly, in-situ thermoelectric power generation achieved power density (Pout ∼ 45.4 Wm−2, Iout ∼ 101 mA) along with solar to electric conversion efficiency (γ = 2.27 %) under 2 kW m−2 solar irradiations. This work will further insight into further advancement in the multifunctional integration of solar evaporation technology concerning the water-energy nexus.