Full-Spectrum Solar-to-Heat Conversion Membrane with Interfacial Plasmonic Heating Ability for High-Efficiency Desalination of Seawater

The current challenge in solar thermal utilization is how to effectively convert full-spectrum sunlight into directly available thermal energy for applications at high conversion efficiency. Herein, we report a novel strategy for the construction of large-area porous CuS/polyethylene (PE) hybrid membrane as a superior interfacial plasmonic photothermal material for high-efficiency solar thermal conversion to produce steam generation off seawater. The single-layer CuS/PE membrane materials have effective full-spectra sunlight absorption, excellent solar-to-heat conversion ability, low thermal conductivity, good hydrophilicity, and open micro/nanoscopic porosity for capillarity and self-floating, etc. Impressively, a single piece of porous CuS/PE membrane under one sun illumination can exhibit a superior conversion efficiency of 63.9% from sunlight to heat of seawater evaporation. Meanwhile, the plasmonic photothermal CuS/PE membrane can be recycled at least 20 times. Therefore, with the demonstrated convenient fabrication process, low cost, and high evaporation efficiency, the single-layer porous CuS/PE membrane materials offer great promise to convert sunlight into thermal energy for practical applications of steam generation.