Silicate based solar evaporator with self-cleaning and corrosion resistant properties for durable seawater desalination

Solar-driven interfacial seawater evaporation is considered to be one of the most promising ways to alleviate the water shortage. However, challenges remain in various evaporation systems in terms of complicated fabrication, low strength and poor resistance of salt corrosion, thus severely limiting the long-term stable service of solar evaporator. Here, we proposed a silicate based solar evaporator composed of polypyrrole modified commercial sand core and basalt fiber for highly efficient solar steam generation. The all silicate based substrate ensured the mechanical strength and stability of solar evaporator in seawater, implying its promising application for stable solar steam generation. In addition, the developed evaporator exhibited high evaporation efficiency with 85.9% and evaporation rate up to 1.26 kg/m2/h under one sun irradiation, and simultaneously delivered excellent performance under cyclic operations. This commercial available and high strength silicate based solar evaporator offered a new strategy for sustainable seawater desalination with excellent self-cleaning and anti-corrosion performances.