Cheap, facile, and upscalable activated carbon-based photothermal layers for solar steam generation

Abstract

of the water evaporation rate and 85.66% of the photothermal conversion efficiency. This was due to improvements in light absorption and water uptake properties with the additional advantage of mechanical robustness. The outdoor solar-to-steam generation test with the spray-coated A4-sized photothermal layer in conjunction with the desalination test demonstrated the potential for practical desalination application with upscalability.