Superhydrophilic and porous carbon nanofiber membrane for high performance solar-driven interfacial evaporator

In light of the mounting global water crisis, solar interfacial evaporation has emerged as a pivotal technology for the advancement of water resource management. One of the most effective methods for enhancing the evaporation rate of solar evaporators is to optimize their utilization of light. In this study, a superhydrophilic Cu/C porous fiber evaporator was prepared using a multi-fluid electrospinning technology and a thermal treatment method. This evaporator exhibits excellent evaporation performance under the effect of Cu NPs, carbon fiber and a porous structure. The results demonstrated that the evaporation rate of the evaporator could reach 1.41 kg m −2 h −1 under one sunlight irradiation (Evaporation efficiency of 94.6 %). In addition, for wastewater containing organic dyes, acidic and alkaline, the evaporator has a significant cleaning effect. This high photothermal conversion efficiency suggests a promising avenue for the utilization of solar energy in water purification.