Hierarchical structure and surface topography play pivotal roles in developing high-performance solar-driven evaporators for clean water production; however, there exists a notable gap in research addressing simultaneous modulation of internal microstructure and surface topography in hydrogels to enhance both solar steam generation performance and desalination efficiency. Herein, anisotropic poly(vinyl alcohol)/MXene composite hydrogels for efficient solar-driven water evaporation and wastewater purification are fabricated using a template-assisted directional freezing approach followed by precise surface wettability modulation. The resultant composite hydrogels exhibit vertically oriented channels that ensure fast water supply during evaporation, and their poly(vinyl alcohol) skeletons can reduce the vaporization enthalpy of the water in the hydrogels. The incorporation of MXene sheets enables efficient solar light absorption and solar-thermal conversion while providing structural reinforcement to the hydrogels. More importantly, the as-created undulating solar-thermal surface, featuring modulated hydrophilic troughs and hydrophobic crests, significantly enhances solar-thermal conversion efficiency, thereby boosting solar evaporation performances. As a result, the fabricated hydrogel-based evaporator exhibits an impressive evaporation rate of 2.55 kg m-2 h-1 under 1 sun irradiation, coupled with long-term durability and desalination stability. Notably, the outstanding mechanical robustness of the hydrogel further enables high portability through a readily achievable process of reversible dehydration/hydration.
Keywords: poly(vinyl alcohol)/MXene hydrogels; seawater desalination; solar steam generation; wastewater purification; water evaporation rate.