Architecting design of interface heating fabric evaporator and its application in clean water production

Given the problems in sewage treatment and clean water production, this study developed a solar steam generating device. Such a developed device comprised a superhydrophobic photocatalytic layer and a polypyrrole photothermal layer. To be specific, the superhydrophobic photocatalysts were capable of selectively adsorbing surface organic solvents and photodegrading dissolved pollutants, while the polypyrrole photothermal layer had a function of absorbing light energy and forming an interfacial heating layer to avoid heat loss. To improve the photodegradation ability, the photocatalyst of Bi2MoO6 was added, and its crystal structure and specific surface area were investigated specifically. The photocatalyst was supported on a fabric substrate to form a bulk material, thereby avoiding the defects of poor reuse of powder catalysts. After 8 cycles, the degradation efficiency remained higher than 98 %. In addition, the fabric exhibited an excellent mechanical stability, of which the average friction coefficient remains stable. Interestingly, after the sewage treatment, the fabric could act as the substrate of photothermal devices to ensure floating. The steam production efficiency was improved by the synergistic effect of the polypyrrole photothermal layer and the fabric.