Nature-inspired design: p- toluenesulfonic acid-assisted hydrothermally engineered wood for solar steam generation

摘要

Wood-based solar steam generation devices (W-SSGDs) have enormous potential to produce pure water by distillation since they are sustainable,easily prepared and green.However,most W-SSGDs described so far have low solar-to-thermal efficiency (<1.5 kg m~(-2)h~(-1)) under 1 standard sun irradiation.Inspired by nature,we have now engineered a W-SSGD with improved solar steam generation efficiency by using p-toluenesulfonic acid (p- TsOH)-assisted hydrothermal treatment.After treatment,the wood lumens became more hydrophilic and were reduced in diameter from 40-60 μm to 10-20 μm.These rationally introduced changes lowered the enthalpy of vaporization of water and greatly enhanced the capacity of the wood for transportation of water.The as-prepared W-SSGD had an evaporation rate of 2.2 kg m~(-2)h~(-1) and an efficiency of 87,which,to the best of our knowledge,are the highest reported values for a W-SSGD.