Stable and Salt-Resistant Janus Evaporator Based on Cellulose Composite Aerogels from Waste Cotton Fabric

Solar steam generation has been considered a promising approach for using renewable solar energy to produce clean water from seawater and wastewater. It shows great potential for alleviating water shortages. However, salt accumulation and system longevity are challenges which impede the widespread use of evaporators. This paper reports a stable Janus evaporator with thickness controllable hydrophilic and hydrophobic layers based on cellulose composite aerogels, which were extracted from waste cotton fabric by a two-step freeze-drying process. The obtained glutaraldehyde cross-linked carbon nanotubes/cellulose Janus aerogel exhibited an attractive solar steam generation rate of 1.81 kg·m–2·h–1 and a light-to-vapor efficiency of up to 92.5% in 1 sun illumination. Moreover, the Janus solar steam generator could pledge stable and sustainable solar-driven water evaporation performance within a 10 h test, showing a high salt-resistant property in simulated seawater. In addition, the developed solar evaporator also had a good purification effect on dye wastewater. These findings suggest its potential ability for seawater desalination and wastewater purification.