The structures of the solar-thermal membranes always influence the performance of light absorption and salt resistance in desalination. Inspired by the hierarchical structure of the coniferous leaves with excellent sunlight absorption in frigid regions, a coniferous leaf-like nickel black (L-Ni) membrane for desalination by solar-thermal energy conversion was prepared through electroplating method under a constant voltage. The light trapping effect of coniferous leaf-like structure led to the light absorption enhanced to 92%, the evaporation rate improved to 1.38 kg·m−2·h−1, and the solar-vapor conversion efficiency of L-Ni membrane reaching up to 89.75% under 1 sun irradiation. The stability of the membrane was still excellent after 20 cycles desalination because the coniferous leaf-like structure could enhance the hydrophobicity (water contact angle: 152°) of the L-Ni membrane, and it was beneficial to salt resistance. The promising performance of L-Ni membrane with coniferous leaf-like structure provides a possibility to replace the noble metal solar-thermal conversion materials.
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Research Article
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Nano Research 2023, 16(7): 10358-10368
Published: 20 March 2023
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