3. Conclusion
In
conclusion, by crosslinking chitosan chains through hydrogen bonding
with Ag/MXene composites as
additives, the obtained AM/Ch gel based solar steam generator exhibits
features of high antibacterial and self-cleaning ability, satisfying
solar energy conversion efficiency and promising clean water production
capacity, due to the superb photo-to-thermal conversion behavior of
Ag/MXene photothermal centers and feasible water transportation in the
biomimetic 3D networks. As such,
high solar steam generation rate of 3.22 kg m−2h−1 with a solar energy utilization efficiency of
94.9% has been achieved under irradiation of 0.2 W
cm-2, outperforming most of the previously reported
solar evaporators. Besides, the concentrations of four primary ions
(Na+, Mg2+, K+ and
Ca2+) were reduced by three to four orders of
magnitude after desalination using seawater samples from the Yellow Sea,
China, meeting the requirement for drinking water quality according to
World Health Organization, and this reveals the bright prospects of our
AM/Ch gel evaporator for seawater desalination.