Abstract
In this study, a Janus membrane was fabricated by fluorination of staple carbon fabric to make it hydrophobic and coating the bottom layer with hydrophilic polyurethane to develop asymmetric wettability. A second method, the phase-inversion method, was also used to prepare a porous Janus membrane. In this design, the hydrophilic side of the Janus membrane is used toward the waterside to pump water from the bulk to the evaporative region by capillary action and simultaneously serve for thermal management, whereas the hydrophobic layer was utilized on the air side to evaporate water. Subsequently, the photothermal conversion and water evaporation properties of the developed Janus membrane were investigated. The findings showed that the developed staple carbon fabrics coated on a hydrophilic polyurethane Janus membrane (SCF@wPU) presented about 67% water evaporation efficiency under 1 sun illumination. The hydrophilicity and porosity of the polyurethane played a significant role in facilitating water transportation, which further facilitates effective water evaporation. The Janus membrane exhibited outstanding cyclic stability, which is crucial for practical applications. Besides, this Janus membrane also presented better water evaporation performance than existing water evaporators do under 1 sun illumination. In addition, it also showed outstanding water evaporation performance in practical applications, i.e., by presenting a water evaporation efficiency of 60% under natural sunlight in an outdoor experiment. Moreover, this Janus membrane preparation approach is easy to use for large-scale production. It is expected to play a role in environmental remediation, in general, and in water evaporation, in particular.
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs10965-023-03594-w/MediaObjects/10965_2023_3594_Fig1_HTML.png)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs10965-023-03594-w/MediaObjects/10965_2023_3594_Fig2_HTML.jpg)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs10965-023-03594-w/MediaObjects/10965_2023_3594_Fig3_HTML.jpg)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs10965-023-03594-w/MediaObjects/10965_2023_3594_Fig4_HTML.png)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs10965-023-03594-w/MediaObjects/10965_2023_3594_Fig5_HTML.png)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs10965-023-03594-w/MediaObjects/10965_2023_3594_Fig6_HTML.png)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs10965-023-03594-w/MediaObjects/10965_2023_3594_Fig7_HTML.png)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs10965-023-03594-w/MediaObjects/10965_2023_3594_Fig8_HTML.png)
![](http://media.springernature.com/m312/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1007%2Fs10965-023-03594-w/MediaObjects/10965_2023_3594_Fig9_HTML.png)
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
Data will be made available on request.
References
Li Z, Wang C, Su J, Ling S, Wang W, An M (2019) Fast-growing field of interfacial solar steam generation: evolutional materials, engineered architectures, and synergistic applications. Solar RRL 3:1800206
Srimuk P, Su X, Yoon J, Aurbach D, Presser V (2020) Charge-transfer materials for electrochemical water desalination, ion separation and the recovery of elements. Nat Rev Mater 5:517–538
Jiang Z, Karan S, Livingston AG (2018) Water transport through ultrathin polyamide nanofilms used for reverse osmosis. Adv Mater 30:1705973
Zhang L, Xu X, Feng J, Bai B, Hu N, Wang H (2021) Waste semi-coke/polydopamine based self-floating solar evaporator for water purification. Sol Energy Mater Sol Cells 230
Zhang B, Wong PW, An AK (2022) Photothermally enabled MXene hydrogel membrane with integrated solar-driven evaporation and photodegradation for efficient water purification. Chem Eng J 430
Zhang S, Ma H, Guo D, Guo P, Wang J, Liu M, Wu S, Bao C (2022) Multiscale Preparation of Graphene Oxide/Carbon Nanotube-Based Membrane Evaporators by a Spray Method for Efficient Solar Steam Generation. ACS Applied Nano Materials 5:7198–7207
Tessema AA, Wu CM, Motora KG (2022) Highly Efficient Solar Light Driven g-C3N4@Cs0. 33WO3 Heterojunction for the Photodegradation of Colorless Antibiotics. ACS Omega 7:38475-38486
Motora KG, Wu C-M, Lin S-T (2023) Novel Ag3PO4@ZIF-8 p-n heterojunction for effective photodegradation of organic pollutants. Journal of Water Process Engineering 52
Motora KG, Wu CM, Rani GM, Yen WT (2022) Effect of ZnO particle size on piezoelectric nanogenerators and mechanical energy harvesting. Express Polym Lett 16
Motora KG, Wu C-M, Xu T-Z, Chala TF, Lai C-C (2020) Photocatalytic, antibacterial, and deodorization activity of recycled triacetate cellulose nanocomposites. Mater Chem Phys 240
Shi Y, Zhang C, Wang Y, Cui Y, Wang Q, Liu G, Gao S, Yuan Y (2021) Plasmonic silver nanoparticles embedded in flexible three-dimensional carbonized melamine foam with enhanced solar-driven water evaporation. Desalination 507
Yang F, Chen J, Ye Z, Ding D, Myung NV, Yin Y (2021) Ni-based plasmonic/magnetic nanostructures as efficient light absorbers for steam generation. Adv Func Mater 31:2006294
Wang X, Li X, Liu G, Li J, Hu X, Xu N, Zhao W, Zhu B, Zhu J (2019) An interfacial solar heating assisted liquid sorbent atmospheric water generator. Angew Chem 131:12182–12186
Meng L-Y, Park S-J (2014) Superhydrophobic carbon-based materials: a review of synthesis, structure, and applications. Carbon letters 15:89–104
Kim T, Lee J, Lee K-H (2014) Microwave heating of carbon-based solid materials. Carbon letters 15:15–24
Naseem S, Wu C-M, Chala TF (2019) Photothermal-responsive tungsten bronze/recycled cellulose triacetate porous fiber membranes for efficient light-driven interfacial water evaporation. Sol Energy 194:391–399
Wu C-M, Naseem S, Chou M-H, Wang J-H, Jian Y-Q (2019) Recent advances in tungsten-oxide-based materials and their applications. Frontiers in Materials 6:49
Chala TF, Wu C-M, Chou M-H, Guo Z-L (2018) Melt electrospun reduced tungsten oxide/polylactic acid fiber membranes as a photothermal material for light-driven interfacial water evaporation. ACS applied materials & interfaces 10:28955–28962
Wu C-M, Motora KG, Kuo D-H, Lai C-C, Huang B-R, Saravanan A (2021) Cesium tungsten bronze nanostructures and their highly enhanced hydrogen gas sensing properties at room temperature. Int J Hydrog Energy 46:25752–25762
Chala TF, Wu C-M, Motora KG (2019) RbxWO3/Ag3VO4 nanocomposites as efficient full-spectrum (UV, visible, and near-infrared) photocatalysis. J Taiwan Inst Chem Eng 102:465–474
Zou Y, Chen X, Guo W, Liu X, Li Y (2020) Flexible and robust polyaniline composites for highly efficient and durable solar desalination. ACS Applied Energy Materials 3:2634–2642
Meng K, Zhao S, Zhou Y, Wu Y, Zhang S, He Q, Wang X, Zhou Z, Fan W, Tan X (2020) A wireless textile-based sensor system for self-powered personalized health care. Matter 2:896–907
Motora KG, Wu CM, Chang CC, Liao JH (2021) NIR Light Stimulated Self-Healing Reduced Tungsten Oxide/Polyurethane Nanocomposite Based on the Diels− Alder Reaction. Macromol Mater Eng 306:2100438
Umapathi R, Kumar K, Ghoreishian SM, Rani GM, Park SY, Huh YS, Venkatesu P (2022) Tunnelling the structural insights between poly (N-isopropylacrylamide) and imidazolium sulfate ionic liquids. J Mol Liq 360
Umapathi R, Khan I, Coutinho JA, Venkatesu P (2020) Unravelling the interactions between biomedical thermoresponsive polymer and biocompatible ionic liquids. J Mol Liq 300
Umapathi R, Reddy PM, Rani A, Venkatesu P (2018) Influence of additives on thermoresponsive polymers in aqueous media: a case study of poly (N-isopropylacrylamide). Phys Chem Chem Phys 20:9717–9744
Motora KG, Wu CM, Naseem S (2021) Magnetic recyclable self-floating solar light-driven WO2.72/Fe3O4 nanocomposites immobilized by Janus membrane for photocatalysis of inorganic and organic pollutants. J Industrial Eng Chem 102:25–34
Motora KG, Wu CM (2020) Magnetically separable highly efficient full-spectrum light-driven WO2. 72/Fe3O4 nanocomposites for photocatalytic reduction of carcinogenic chromium (VI) and organic dye degradation. J Taiwan Ins Chem Eng 117:123-132
Motora KG, Wu CM, Chala TF, Chou MH, Kuo CF, Koinkar P (2020) Highly efficient photocatalytic activity of Ag3VO4/WO2.72 nanocomposites for the degradation of organic dyes from the ultraviolet to near-infrared regions. Appl Surf Sci 512:145618
Ranjith KS, Vilian AE, Ghoreishian SM, Umapathi R, Huh YS, Han Y-K (2021) An ultrasensitive electrochemical sensing platform for rapid detection of rutin with a hybridized 2D–1D MXene-FeWO4 nanocomposite. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical 344
Yang Y, Zhao R, Zhang T, Zhao K, **ao P, Ma Y, Ajayan PM, Shi G, Chen Y (2018) Graphene-based standalone solar energy converter for water desalination and purification. ACS nano 12:829–835
Rawat P, Sharma PK, Malik V, Umapathi R, Kaushik N, Rhyee J-S (2022) Emergence of high-performing and ultra-fast 2D-graphene nano-biosensing system. Mater Lett 308
Danial WH, Abdul Majid Z (2022) Recent advances on the enhanced thermal conductivity of graphene nanoplatelets composites: a short review. Carbon Lett 32:1411-1424
Fang W, Zhao L, Chen H, He X, Li W, Du X, Sun Z, Zhang T, Shen Y (2019) Graphene oxide foam fabricated with surfactant foaming method for efficient solar vapor generation. J Mater Sci 54:12782–12793
Mokgohloa M, Ogunlaja AS (2022) Synthesis and characterization of ethylenediamine functionalized graphene oxide-modified UiO-66-NH2 for quinoline removal. Carbon Letters 32:1689–1702
Zhuang P, Fu H, Xu N, Li B, Xu J, Zhou L (2020) Free-standing reduced graphene oxide (rGO) membrane for salt-rejecting solar desalination via size effect. Nanophotonics 9:4601–4608
Yin Z, Wang H, Jian M, Li Y, **a K, Zhang M, Wang C, Wang Q, Ma M, Zheng Q-S (2017) Extremely black vertically aligned carbon nanotube arrays for solar steam generation. ACS Appl Mater Interf 9:28596–28603
Wang H, Du A, Ji X, Zhang C, Zhou B, Zhang Z, Shen J (2019) Enhanced photothermal conversion by hot-electron effect in ultrablack carbon aerogel for solar steam generation. ACS Appl Mater Interf 11:42057–42065
Li H, He Y, Hu Y, Wang X (2018) Commercially available activated carbon fiber felt enables efficient solar steam generation. ACS applied materials & interfaces 10:9362–9368
Kim J, Kwon W, Bai BC, Jeong E (2022) Recycling of cotton clothing into activated carbon fibers. Carbon Lett 32:1315–1327
Zhang W-M, Yan J, Su Q, Han J, Gao J-F (2022) Hydrophobic and porous carbon nanofiber membrane for high performance solar-driven interfacial evaporation with excellent salt resistance. J Colloid Interface Sci 612:66–75
Li T, Fang Q, ** X, Chen Y, Liu F (2019) Ultra-robust carbon fibers for multi-media purification via solar-evaporation. J Mater Chem A 7:586–593
Yan J, **ao W, Chen L, Wu Z, Gao J, Xue H (2021) Superhydrophilic carbon nanofiber membrane with a hierarchically macro/meso porous structure for high performance solar steam generators. Desalination 516
Tong D, Song B (2022) A high-efficient and ultra-strong interfacial solar evaporator based on carbon-fiber fabric for seawater and wastewater purification. Desalination 527
Wu Z, Yin K, Wu J, Zhu Z, Duan J-A, He J (2021) Recent advances in femtosecond laser-structured Janus membranes with asymmetric surface wettability. Nanoscale 13:2209–2226
Higgins M, Rahmaan AS, Devarapalli RR, Shelke MV, Jha N (2018) Carbon fabric based solar steam generation for waste water treatment. Sol Energy 159:800–810
Wu Z, Pittman CU Jr, Gardner SD (1995) Nitric acid oxidation of carbon fibers and the effects of subsequent treatment in refluxing aqueous NaOH. Carbon 33:597–605
Huang S, Long Y, Yi H, Yang Z, Pang L, ** Z, Liao Q, Zhang L, Zhang Y, Chen Y (2019) Multifunctional molybdenum oxide for solar-driven water evaporation and charged dyes adsorption. Appl Surf Sci 491:328–334
Finnerty C, Zhang L, Sedlak DL, Nelson KL, Mi B (2017) Synthetic graphene oxide leaf for solar desalination with zero liquid discharge. Environ Sci Technol 51:11701–11709
Zhu R, Wang D, Liu Y, Liu M, Fu S (2022) Bifunctional superwetting carbon nanotubes/cellulose composite membrane for solar desalination and oily seawater purification. Chem Eng J 433
Kou H, Liu Z, Zhu B, Macharia DK, Ahmed S, Wu B, Zhu M, Liu X, Chen Z (2019) Recyclable CNT-coupled cotton fabrics for low-cost and efficient desalination of seawater under sunlight. Desalination 462:29–38
Wu C-M, Cheng Y-C, Lai W-Y, Chen P-H, Way T-D (2020) Friction and wear performance of staple carbon fabric-reinforced composites: Effects of surface topography. Polymers 12:141
Cheng Y-C, Wu C-M, Lin P-C, Lai W-Y, Chen P-H, Way T-D (2020) Friction behaviors of staple carbon fiber composites. Mod Phys Lett B 34:2040002
Zhao Q, Wan Y, Chang F, Wang Y, Jiang H, Jiang L, Zhang X, Ma N (2022) Photothermal converting polypyrrole/polyurethane composite foams for effective solar desalination. Desalination 527
Gokana MR, Wu CM, Reddicherla U, Motora KG (2021) Scalable preparation of ultrathin porous polyurethane membrane-based triboelectric nanogenerator for mechanical energy harvesting. Express Polym Lett 15
Aksoy B, Sel E, Kuyumcu Savan E, Ateş B, Köytepe S (2021) Recent progress and perspectives on polyurethane membranes in the development of gas sensors. Critic Rev Anal Chem 51:619-630
Thakur S, Hu J (2017) Polyurethane: a shape memory polymer (SMP). Aspects Polyurethanes 53-71
Shen C, Zhu Y, **ao X, Xu X, Chen X, Xu G (2020) Economical salt-resistant superhydrophobic photothermal membrane for highly efficient and stable solar desalination. ACS Appl Mater Interf 12:35142–35151
Zia KM, Bhatti HN, Bhatti IA (2007) Methods for polyurethane and polyurethane composites, recycling and recovery: A review. React Funct Polym 67:675–692
Lei W, Khan S, Chen L, Suzuki N, Terashima C, Liu K, Fujishima A, Liu M (2021) Hierarchical structures hydrogel evaporator and superhydrophilic water collect device for efficient solar steam evaporation. Nano Res 14:1135–1140
Wang YZ, L. & Wang, P. (2016) Self floating carbon nano-tube membrane on macroporous silica substrate for highly efficient solar-driven interfacial water evaporation. ACS Sustain. Chem. Eng 4:1223–1230
Cheng H, Liu X, Zhang L, Hou B, Yu F, Shi Z, Wang X (2019) Self-floating Bi2S3/poly (vinylidene fluoride) composites on polyurethane sponges for efficient solar water purification. Sol Energy Mater Sol Cells 203
Yu HH, Yan LJ, Shen YC, Chen SY, Li HN, Yang J, Xu ZK (2020) Janus poly (vinylidene fluoride) membranes with penetrative pores for photothermal desalination. Research
Tessema AA, Wu C-M, Motora KG, Naseem S (2021) Highly-efficient and salt-resistant CsxWO3@g-C3N4/PVDF fiber membranes for interfacial water evaporation, desalination, and sewage treatment. Compos Sci Technol 211
Zhang Y, Tao F, Cao S, Yin K, Chang X, Fan R, Fan C, Dong L, Yin Y, Chen X (2019) Hierarchical K2Mn4O8 nanoflowers: A novel photothermal conversion material for efficient solar vapor generation. Sol Energy Mater Sol Cells 200
Deng Z, Liu PF, Zhou J, Miao L, Peng Y, Su H, Wang P, Wang X, Cao W, Jiang F (2018) A novel ink-stained paper for solar heavy metal treatment and desalination. Solar Rrl 2:1800073
Guo Z, Wang G, Ming X, Mei T, Wang J, Li J, Qian J, Wang X (2018) PEGylated Self-Growth MoS2 on a Cotton Cloth Substrate for High-Efficiency Solar Energy Utilization. ACS Appl Mater Interf 10:24583–24589
Wang G, Fu Y, Guo A, Mei T, Wang J, Li J, Wang X (2017) Reduced graphene oxide–polyurethane nanocomposite foam as a reusable photoreceiver for efficient solar steam generation. Chem Mater 29:5629–5635
Tao F, Zhang Y, Wang B, Zhang F, Chang X, Fan R, Dong L, Yin Y (2018) Graphite powder/semipermeable collodion membrane composite for water evaporation. Sol Energy Mater Sol Cells 180:34–45
Jia C, Li Y, Yang Z, Chen G, Yao Y, Jiang F, Kuang Y, Pastel G, **e H, Yang B (2017) Rich mesostructures derived from natural woods for solar steam generation. Joule 1:588–599
Ding D, Huang W, Song C, Yan M, Guo C, Liu S (2017) Non-stoichiometric MoO 3–x quantum dots as a light-harvesting material for interfacial water evaporation. Chem Commun 53:6744–6747
Ye M, Jia J, Wu Z, Qian C, Chen R, O’Brien PG, Sun W, Dong Y, Ozin GA (2017) Synthesis of black TiOx nanoparticles by Mg reduction of TiO2 nanocrystals and their application for solar water evaporation. Adv Energy Mater 7:1601811
Hua Z, Li B, Li L, Yin X, Chen K, Wang W (2017) Designing a novel photothermal material of hierarchical microstructured copper phosphate for solar evaporation enhancement. J Phys Chem C 121:60–69
Zhou L, Zhuang S, He C, Tan Y, Wang Z, Zhu J (2017) Self-assembled spectrum selective plasmonic absorbers with tunable bandwidth for solar energy conversion. Nano Energy 32:195–200
Acknowledgements
We are thankful to the Ministry of Science and Technology of Taiwan, Republic of China for the financial support of this study under contract number: MOST110-2811-E-011-006-MY3. We would like to acknowledge also Link Win Technology Co., Ltd. (Taichung, Taiwan) for hel** us in preparation of SCF.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflicts of interest
The authors declare that there are no financial interest or personal relationship that could affect the work reported in this study.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Wu, CM., Cheng, C.T., Tessema, A.A. et al. Staple carbon fabric/polyurethane Janus membranes for photothermal conversion and interfacial steam generation. J Polym Res 30, 196 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10965-023-03594-w
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10965-023-03594-w