Engineering

Condensation

Aerospace engineering

Heat transfer

Biology

Solar still

Condenser (optics)

Materials science

Absorption (acoustics)

Biochemistry

Chemical engineering

Geology

Solar energy

Single stage

Paleontology

Waste management

Thermodynamics

Physics

Nuclear engineering

Organic chemistry

Membrane

Desalination

Optics

Nanofluids in solar collectors

Stage (stratigraphy)

Environmental science

Composite material

Evaporation

Water vapor

Chemistry

Meteorology

Solar air conditioning

Light source

Electrical engineering

Joule

Interfacial solar vapor generation is an emerging technology for producing purified water with a minimized carbon footprint. While the evaporation rate has been significantly increased, the rate of water collection has been limited because of ineffective heat transfer during condensation and compromised light absorption in the conventionally designed solar still. In this work, an invert-structured, single-stage solar water purifier (ISWP) is elaborately designed and fabricated and consists of a top selective absorber and a honeycombed bottom water condenser based on hydrophobic nanostructured copper. This inverted structure not only avoids optical loss due to the vapor condensation but also realizes enhanced heat transfer and condensation. As a result, it can achieve a high water-collection rate of 1.063 kg m−2 h−1 and an overall efficiency of solar collected water of ∼70% for single-stage solar purification systems.

A high-performing single-stage invert-structured solar water purifier through enhanced absorption and condensation