Carbon nanofibers enhanced solar steam generation device based on loofah biomass for water purification

Solar steam generation is regarded as a sustainable method to address the severe water scarcity issue from seawater and/or wastewater. In this paper, carbonized loofah (CL) solar vapor generator has been verified to be an effective photothermal material (PM). The composite of carbon nanofiber (CNF) decorated CL (CL-CNF) with enhanced light trapping capability was realized by in situ chemical vapor deposition. CL and CL-CNF, either as self-floating PMs or solar steam generation device (SSGD) with hydrophobic ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) foam as a supporter and hydrophilic cotton pad as a water transportation layer, exhibited an outstanding light absorption ability and light-to-heat conversion capability. In virtue of the cooperative function of photothermal conversion and unique 2D water passageway, high-water evaporation rate and photothermal conversion efficiency of 1.72 kg m−2 h−1 and 92.5% for CL-CNF SSGD were achieved under 1 kW m−2 solar irradiation.