RESUMO
Solar-driven interfacial evaporation (SDIE) technology has evolved rapidly in the last decade and is an exciting scientific topic. With this high level of attention, it is necessary to continuously summarize previous research to develop SDIE technology well. Therefore, we have prepared this review article to summarize the latest progress in this field. First, photothermal conversion materials are introduced, which play an essential role in SDIE, including plasma metal nanoparticles, semiconductors, and carbon-based and polymer-based materials, and their photothermal mechanisms are explained. Second, strategies to improve SDIE performances, such as enhanced light absorption, water transmission channel design, and thermal management, are discussed, which can well modulate the evaporator performance and improve energy utilization efficiency. Subsequently, the applications of SDIE in various aspects including desalination, sterilization, sewage treatment, and simultaneous generation of water and electricity are presented in detail. At the end, we summarize some of the current bottlenecks encountered by SDIE, offer some insights into the ideal SDIE evaporator, and provide an outlook on the future development of SDIE technology. The potential of SDIE is being demonstrated in a variety of applications and it promises to be a green, economical solution to energy and water shortage problems in the future. This review aims to promote the research and practical application of SDIE and contribute to its development.
RESUMO
Interfacial solar-driven steam generation has been proposed as a cost-effective green sustainable technology to alleviate the freshwater crisis. However, the desire to produce clean water from water sources containing organic contaminants is still remains a challenge due to the limitations of the traditional wastewater treatment methods. Here, we constructed a g-C3N4-based composite sponge solar steam generator (rGCPP) by a simple hydrothermal reaction. Benefiting from its low cost and easy preparation, this evaporator can be expected to be a promising candidate for the alleviation of water shortages and water pollution in practical applications. By combination of the solar steam generation and the photocatalysis into the rGCPP-based interfacial solar-driven steam generation system, the resulted rGCPP-based solar steam generator performs outstanding solar absorption of 90.8%, which achieves high evaporation rate of 1.875 kg m-2 h-1 and solar-to-vapor efficiency of 81.07% under 1 sun irradiation. Meanwhile, organic pollutants in the water source can be completely removed by photocatalytic degradation and the degradation rates were measured to be 99.20% for methylene blue and 91.07% for rhodamine B, respectively. Consequently, the as-prepared composite sponge has promising applications in generating clean water and alleviating water pollution.
RESUMO
A kind of wearable exoskeleton soft rehabilitation glove is proposed for the dementia in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients with loss of hand function, limited range of motion, and insufficient finger muscle strength to carry out rehabilitation exercise training in a passive or auxiliary way. A novel soft joint structure based on composite fabric material is introduced for the design of the soft glove with bionic method, and experiments are conducted to verify the effeteness of the proposed soft rehabilitation glove. The test results showed that when the fluid pressure was 0.42 MPa, the joint angle of MCP, PIP and DIP could be up to 81°, 98°, 72°, and produce output torque of 1.18Nm, 1.44Nm and 1.82Nm respectively, which meets the requirements of the hand rehabilitation. A dynamic rehabilitation-training test of the rehabilitation glove was also carried out, and the results showed that the movement frequency of soft fingers could reach 30 times/min, which is sufficient for repetitive flexion/extension exercise. In order to verify the grasping characteristics of the soft glove for irregular objects, experiments were carried out. The experimental results showed that the bionic soft glove was dexterous in grasping, which conforms to the universal grasping characteristics of human hands, has the function of assisting daily life (ADL), and meets the requirements of rehabilitation.
