Biomimetic hydrophilic foam with micro/nano-scale porous hydrophobic surface for highly efficient solar-driven vapor generation

Solar-driven vapor generation by localized solar heating of a photothermal material is an environmentally friendly approach for seawater desalination and wastewater purification. In this work, inspired the leaf transpiration in nature, we designed novel bionic to realize highly efficient generation. The leaf-inspired three-dimensional (3D) structure had hydrophilic polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) foam layer (equivalence mesophyll tissue leaf) with high porosity low thermal conductivity, polypyrrole (PPy) chlorophyll coated on PVA foam, micro/nano-scale porous hydrophobic surface stomal leaf). network microchannels water transportation reducing evaporation enthalpy, PPy absorbed converted energy heat locally, enhanced rate escape. asfabricated generator based bionic-leaf achieved impressive 3.09 kg m?2 h?1 under one sun irradiation (1 kW m?2). prototype desalinated purified brine successfully natural sunlight. Such biomimetic provides potential low-cost purification technology help mitigate global crisis using sustainable energy.