Multiple-anti-fouling wood-based evaporator integrated with phase change material utilize waste heat for continuous...

Solar-driven interfacial evaporation plays a pivotal role in addressing the global water shortage. Nevertheless, performance deterioration caused by scaling and intermittent solar irradiation in continuous evaporation remains a major obstacle to its application. Herein, we reported a multiple-anti-fouling wood-based evaporator (Ag/rGO@DBW) and integrated with phase change material for efficient and continuous evaporation. Ag/rGO@DBW demonstrated prominent photothermal conversion, exceptional thermal management, superior wetting characteristic and significantly reduced vaporization enthalpy, thereby reaching an impressive evaporation rate of 2.53 kg m^-2 h^-1 under one sun irradiation. The three-dimensional interconnected structure of Ag/rGO@DBW utilized multi-directional mass transfer mechanism to achieve continuous operation in 15 wt% NaCl solution without salt accumulation. The high-quality freshwater evaporated from seawater had the potential for agricultural irrigation and even as drinking water. Moreover, Ag/rGO@DBW demonstrated excellent anti-oil/biofouling capabilities, and was capable to purify various industrial wastewater. More importantly, solar-driven interfacial evaporation integrated with phase change material system stored reminder waste heat and released it during periods of insufficient solar irradiation to sustain evaporation. This system overcame intermittent irradiation and achieved a evaporation rate of 1.65 kg m^-2 h^-1 without irradiation. This work provides an expandable strategy for achieving high-performance and sustainable evaporators.