PERFORMANCES OF HOLLOW CARBON SPHERES AS FLOATING BODIES FOR IMPROVED SOLAR EVAPORATION

摘要

Concentrating solar heat for boosting the evaporation of water,and thus producing pure water or steam from seawater for instance,attracts more and more interest.Efficient harvesting of solar energy for steam generation is a key factor for a broad range of applications,and hence solar evaporation processes with high efficiency are looked for.As an excellent photothermal material with high absorbance and low emittance,carbon installed at the surface of water should minimize heat losses and result in improved solar evaporation.In this context,the potential of floating hollow carbon spheres(HCSs)as solar steam generation enhancers is worth investigating.Combining the well-known chemical inertness of carbon at moderate temperature and its light-absorption properties,floating HCSs might indeed absorb sunlight and then convert it to thermal energy,resulting in an increase of the surface temperature of water and a significant enhancement of the water evaporation rate.