Highly efficient solar steam evaporation via elastic polymer covalent organic frameworks monolith.

Hu, Awei; Zhao, Yuan; Hu, Qing; Chen, Chunhui; Lu, Xiao; Cui, Songlin; Liu, Bo · Nat Commun · 2024

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Three-dimensional solar steam evaporators with efficient water purification performance have received increasing attention recently. Herein, elastic polymer covalent organic frameworks (PP-PEG) containing PEG chains with intriguing adaptability to guests are prepared by forming porphyrin rings. PP-PEG foams demonstrate full spectrum absorbance and excellent photothermal conversion properties. Through well-designed thermal management and optimization of the hydrophilicity and PEG chain length, we obtain a highly efficient solar evaporator with an evaporation rate of 4.89 kg m<sup>-2</sup> h<sup>-1</sup> under 1 sun in self-contained mode. The optimized solar evaporation rate is increased to 18.88 kg m<sup>-2</sup> h<sup>-1</sup> under 1 sun with a facile truncated cone reflector, exceeding all known solar steam evaporators. This innovative design holds immense promise for desalination and water purification owing to its simple preparation, high efficiency and durability.