A stabilized high-performance algal contamination-resistant and salt-free wood-based suspension solar evaporator

Although wood-based evaporative materials showcase promising prospects for desalination by interfacial solar evaporation, the persistence of salt and biofouling problems still challenges this process. The present work introduces an algae-resistant suspended evaporator with semiconductor-enhanced anti-algae properties, ensuring high evaporation activity while preventing algae contamination and salt accumulation. Unlike pure wood evaporative materials that have noticeable algae attachment in algae-growing environments, and evaporative materials with a hydrophobic light-absorbing layer but no semiconductors that still exhibit algae attachment at the microscopic level, the as-designed anti-algae evaporator demonstrates minimal algae presence in both macroscopically and microscopically. More impressively, benefiting from the anti-algae agent, the hydrophobic properties of the suspended evaporative material, which are responsible for guaranteeing high activity and durability, are not destroyed, exhibiting better stability. As a result, the evaporation rate drops from 1.62 to 1.34 kg m^-2 h^-1 without the semiconductor anti-algae agent, and the light-vapor conversion efficiency is drastically reduced from 90.91 % to 73.83 % accordingly. Comparatively, the algae-resistant evaporator can maintain an evaporation rate of 1.54 kg m^-2 h^-1 and an efficiency of 85.12 %, with a retention of evaporation rate up to 95.65 %, showcasing excellent long-term performance. This work offers a promising approach for developing stable, algae-resistant evaporators, advancing solar-powered desalination using biomass materials.