Solar-to-Steam Generation via Porous Black Membranes with Tailored Pore Structures

Solar-to-steam generation is a powerful, intense, and efficient method to harvest solar energy. Many efforts have been devoted to the development of a durable, affordable, and easy-to-manufacture solar steam device. In this study, we use a versatile polydimethylsiloxane material to fabricate an open porous black membrane with different pore structures using a simple salt water etching process and vapor deposition polymerization of pyrrole into a matrix. The porous black membrane absorbed radiation from a broad section of the light spectrum from near-infrared to ultraviolet and retained its initial pore structures and floating ability. We found that our black membrane with a tailored pore structure and surface exhibits excellent solar-to-steam generation efficiency of up to 72% at five sun irradiation. Also, a series of analyses including density functional theory calculation was used to prove the outstanding efficiency of solar-to-steam generation.