Salting-Out Engineered Sulfonated Cellulosic Hydrogel with Proton Hopping Pathways for Integrated Water Purification...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Renewable Energy
• Environmental Engineering

Background:

• Interfacial solar evaporators offer solutions to the water-energy nexus but face challenges in cost and scalability.
• Existing technologies often rely on expensive materials and energy-intensive fabrication processes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a low-cost, scalable, and bio-derived material for simultaneous solar-driven water evaporation and hydrovoltaic power generation.
• To investigate the performance of a novel sulfonated delignified biomass hydrogel (SSH) system.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a sulfonated delignified biomass hydrogel (SSH) using a salting-out method.
• Incorporation of LDH@MXene photothermal fillers and poly(vinyl alcohol).
• Characterization of the hydrogel's porous structure, thermal confinement, water transport, and hydrovoltaic properties.

Main Results:

• The SSH material exhibits a salting-out structured architecture with stabilized porous channels for efficient evaporation.
• Achieved a high evaporation rate due to enhanced heat confinement and directional water transport.
• Demonstrated significant hydrovoltaic performance with an open-circuit voltage of 784 mV and short-circuit current of 82.14 µA.
• Scaled SSH arrays showed stable outdoor operation for self-powered sensing and plant growth.

Conclusions:

• The developed SSH platform provides an energy-efficient and deployable strategy for clean water production and decentralized electricity generation.
• Utilizes a sustainable, bio-derived material suitable for resource-scarce regions.
• Predictive models estimate strong performance across diverse climatic conditions.