Low vaporization enthalpy of modified chitosan hydrogel for high performance solar evaporator

Low vaporization enthalpy of modified chitosan hydrogel for high performance solar evaporator

Carbohydrate Polymers

10.1016/j.carbpol.2024.122304

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbpol.2024.122304

Patsaya Anukunwithaya, Nanxue Liu, Siqi Liu, Eknarin Thanayupong, Lili Zhou, Nuttaporn Pimpha, Jiakang Min, Wannee Chinsirikul, Warintorn Thitsartarn, J. Justin Koh, Chaobin He

23 May 2024

Anukunwithaya, P., Liu, N., Liu, S., Thanayupong, E., Zhou, L., Pimpha, N., Min, J., Chinsirikul, W., Thitsartarn, W., Koh, J. J., & He, C. (2024). Low vaporization enthalpy of modified chitosan hydrogel for high performance solar evaporator. Carbohydrate Polymers, 340, 122304. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbpol.2024.122304

The high vaporization enthalpy of water attributed to the strong hydrogen bonds between water molecules is limiting the performance of solar evaporators. This work demonstrates a deliberate attempt to significantly reduce the vaporization enthalpy of water through the introduction of weak water-amine hydrogen bond interactions in hydrogel evaporators. In this article, bio-based chitosan-agarose/multiwalled carbon nanotube hydrogel film evaporators (CAMFEs) exhibit larger vaporization enthalpy reduction with the presence of primary amine groups in chitosan. An interplay between vaporization enthalpy reduction and water diffusivity leads to an optimal ratio of chitosan to agarose = 7:1 (CAMFE7) showing an impressive evaporation rate of 4.13 kg m−2 h−1 under 1 sun irradiation. CAMFE7 also exhibits excellent salt resistance, with a stable water evaporation rate, using brine water of up to 10 % salinity under continuous 1 sun irradiation. The high mechanical robustness together with its scalability makes CAMFE7 a highly promising material for practical drinking water production.

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

This research / project is supported by the Agency of Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) - Manufacturing, Trade, and Connectivity Young Individual Research Grant
Grant Reference no. : M22K3c0101

This research / project is supported by the A*STAR - A*STAR IMRE – SCG Chemicals Advanced Composite Joint Lab
Grant Reference no. : I1801E0024

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Elsevier in Carbohydrate Polymers, available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.carbpol.2024.122304.

https://oar.a-star.edu.sg/communities-collections/articles/23312

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Institute of Materials Research and Engineering