Efficient Solar Evaporation by Hybrid Semiconductor Confined in Mesoporous Glass.

Efficient utilization of solar energy for water evaporation is an advanced and environment-friendly technology to solve the crisis of global drinking water shortage. Herein, we report an efficient solar vapor generator comprised of a light-absorbing and photothermal hybrid compound [Ni(Phen) 3 ][V 14 O 34 Cl]Cl (NiV 14 ) confined in mesoporous and hydrophilic glass (meso-glass). The generator is floating in water by supporting on domestic melamine-formaldehyde (MF) foam to ensure the evaporation at water-air interface. Porous structures and poor thermal conductivity of the meso-glass together with MF foam contribute to the unfailing water supply, strong solar thermal localization and less heat dissipation, and convection. Associated with strong photothermal role of NiV 14 , these synergistic effects led to a water evaporation rate of 14.38 kg m -2 h -1 with total water evaporation efficiency of 111.4% under 6 suns and a daily solar water purification yield of 42.00 L m -2 under 1 sun irradiation. This solar evaporation system shows great promise for high-efficiency water purification application.