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Fabrication of high-performance graphene oxide/CuO/Cu2O film-coated copper foam for interfacial solar-driven water evaporation

  • Composites & nanocomposites
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Abstract

Interfacial solar-driven water evaporation (ISDWE) technology has received tremendous attention for its potential application in clean water production. However, its practical application requires more robust, efficient and multifunctional photothermal materials. For this case, growth of CuO/Cu2O film and graphene oxide assembly were successively conducted on the surface of Cu foam in this study, making positive contribution to the ISDWE performance. By the growth of CuO/Cu2O film, solar light utilization ability and surface wettability of Cu foam were enhanced, and the ISDWE performance was increased. It was also found that the pores per inch (PPI) value and thickness of Cu foam have a double-edged sword effect on the ISDWE performance. This could originate from the synergetic effect of surface area for evaporation, water pumping and vapor diffusion abilities. Among various PPI values and thicknesses, Cu@CuO/Cu2O foam with PPI value of 60 and 3 mm thickness demonstrated optimal ISDWE performance. By subsequent graphene oxide modification, the solar light utilization ability and surface wettability were further enhanced, the water evaporation rate reached 1.539 kg m−2 h−1, and the water evaporation efficiency was 96.64%. Moreover, the combination of CuO/Cu2O film and graphene oxide resulted in superior photocatalytic property on degrading Rhodamine B solution. The obtained results could provide important theoretical and practical reference value for the design of advanced photothermal materials.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51602292), Scientific and Technological Innovation Programs of Higher Education Institutions in Shanxi (Grant No. 2019L0589), Natural Science Foundation of Shanxi Province (Grant Nos. 201903D421082, 201901D111170, 201901D211225) and the Natural Science Foundation of Shanxi Province for International Cooperation (Grant Nos. 201903D421082, 201901D111170).

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  1. Chaorui Xue, Pengfei Li contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Energy and Power Engineering, North University of China, Taiyuan, 030051, People’s Republic of China

    Chaorui Xue, Pengfei Li, Qian Zhang, Dong Li, Qing Chang & Shengliang Hu

  2. School of Materials Science and Engineering, North University of China, Taiyuan, 030051, People’s Republic of China

    Yangsen Li, Ying Li & Jinfang Zhang

  3. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, People’s Republic of China

    Jinlong Yang

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  1. Chaorui Xue
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Correspondence to Chaorui Xue or Shengliang Hu.

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Xue, C., Li, P., Zhang, Q. et al. Fabrication of high-performance graphene oxide/CuO/Cu2O film-coated copper foam for interfacial solar-driven water evaporation. J Mater Sci 57, 3322–3336 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-021-06754-9

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