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Carbon nanocomposites with high photothermal conversion efficiency

具有高效光热转换性能的碳基纳米复合材料

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Abstract

Photothermal conversion for water vapor generation is a novel strategy and an efficient way to utilize solar energy, which has great potential for water purification and desalination. In this review, the development of photothermal conversion and the classification of absorbers for solar vapor generation systems are presented, especially in recent development of carbon nanocomposites (carbon nanotubes and graphene) as solar vapor generation devices. Combined with recent progresses and achievements in this field, we discuss the challenges and opportunities for photothermal conversion based on carbon nanocomposites as well as their promising applications.

摘要

光热转换产生水蒸汽是一种高效的、 全新的太阳能利用方式, 在污水处理和海水淡化等领域具有广泛应用前景. 本文介绍了光热转换的发展以及用作太阳能水蒸汽产生系统的吸光材料的种类, 进一步深入分析碳基纳米复合材料(碳纳米管和石墨烯)制备水蒸汽的转换效率, 并结合碳基纳米复合材料在光热转换领域的相关研究成果, 提出了碳基纳米复合材料在光热领域面临的各种挑战和机遇.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (2016YFA0200200), the Key Laboratory of Textile Fiber & Product (Wuhan Textile University), Ministry of Education (FZXW006).

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Correspondence to Xianbao Wang  (王贤保).

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Qian Zhang received his master degree under the supervision of Prof. Weilin Xu in 2017. He is now a PhD candidate cosupervised by Prof. Xianbao Wang and Prof. Weilin Xu in Hubei University. His research interests are the design and applications of nanomaterials, including carbon based nanomaterials for high photothermal conversion and nanocomposite functional textiles.

Weilin Xu is a “Cheung Kong Scholar” in Wuhan Textile University. He received the National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars award in 2013. He is the First Prize Winner of the National Science and Technology Progress in 2009. His main research focuses on biomaterials, polymers characterization and surface modification, especially graphene and nanotube modified functional textiles.

Xianbao Wang received his PhD degree from the Institute of Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2002. He worked as postdoctor in the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium) from 2002 to 2004. He became a professor in materials science and engineering, at Hubei University in 2005. His current research involves in the preparation and functionalization of carbon based nanomaterials, and their applications in polymer nanocomposites, solar photo-thermal conversion, Li-S cells, fuel cells, supercapacitors and environmental monitoring.

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Zhang, Q., Xu, W. & Wang, X. Carbon nanocomposites with high photothermal conversion efficiency. Sci. China Mater. 61, 905–914 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40843-018-9250-x

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