Nature-inspired wood-based solar evaporation system for efficient desalination and water purification

Interfacial solar evaporation technology is considered as one of the most promising green ways to solve the problems of freshwater scarcity and sewage treatment. Herein, we prepared a low-cost, easy-to-fabricate, and excellent performance polyaniline (PANI)-wood solar evaporator using a simple surface self-assembly technique. The evaporator achieves an evaporation rate of 1.66 kg m −2 h −1 under 1 sun and a photothermal conversion efficiency of 86.9%. In the process of seawater desalination, the purification rate of four ions in seawater reaches at least 99%. And water purified by evaporator meets the drinking water standard of the World Health Organization (WHO). In the experiment of evaporating organic dye aqueous solution, the light transmittance of the purified water is similar to that of deionized water. These performances are higher than those of most reported wood-based solar evaporators. Therefore, the efficient solar evaporation system has great potential in addressing desalination and water purification. Graphical abstract