Floating hollow carbon spheres for improved solar evaporation

Hollow carbon spheres (HCSs) were prepared from sugar alcohols encapsulated in UV-cured polymer which were hydrothermally treated in solutions of carbon precursors and carbonised at different temperatures in the presence or absence of graphitisation catalysts (Fe(III) and Ni(II)). The resultant HCSs were then spread at the surface of salt water and submitted to a solar simulator in a special ventilated chamber. The presence of HCSs floating at...