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Language: English

Conflict of Interest: In relation to this article, we declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Publication history: Received May 10, 2023
Accepted August 7, 2023

This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/bync/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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Ag Modifi ed Pinecone Photoabsorber for Highly Effi cient Interfacial Solar Steam Generation and Wastewater Treatment

Zohreh Niazi Masoomeh Shafaee¹ Moeid Asarnia Elaheh K. Goharshadi^{2 3†}

Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science , Ferdowsi University of Mashhad ¹Department of Physical Chemistry, School of Chemistry, University College of Science , University of Tehran ²Nano Research Centre , Ferdowsi University of Mashhad ³Center for Nanotechnology in Renewable Energies , Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

gohari@um.ac.ir

Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering, March 2024, 41(3), 807-817(11), https://doi.org/10.1007/s11814-024-00082-9

Abstract

Interfacial solar steam generation (ISSG) off ers a sustainable and environmentally friendly strategy for addressing the energy

and water crises. In this study, we fabricated a highly effi cient and cost-eff ective plasmonic photoabsorber for ISSG of

seawater by coating silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) on pinecone (PC). The PC with low thermal conductivity and numerous

aligned microchannels for fast water transport, provides suffi cient water supply and reduces the bulk heat loss. In addition,

Ag NPs strongly absorb solar radiation through the surface plasmon resonance eff ect. Using Ag/PC under 1 sun (1 kW m –2 ),

we achieved an evaporation fl ux and effi ciency of 1.82 kg m –2 h –1 and 100%, respectively. Moreover, Ag/PC removed more

than 99% of Na + , K + , Mg 2+ , and Ca 2+ ions from seawater. The plasmonic PC also exhibited excellent cycling during 10

cycles effi ciency of ISSG. Furthermore, treatment of paper industry wastewater with Ag/PC resulted in a signifi cant decrease

in the concentration of ions.

Keywords

Ag NPs · Interfacial solar steam generation · Pinecone · Plasmonic photoabsorber · Wastewater treatment