A Solar-Electric Dual-Driven Microporous Hydrogel Evaporator for All-Weather Highly Efficient Water Purification

Solar-driven interfacial water evaporation technology holds significant potential for addressing global water scarcity. However, the variable nature of solar intensity in natural environments limits its reliability for allweather highly efficient water purification. Herein, we develop a novel solar-electric dual-driven water purification evaporator featuring an electrically heated mesh within a microporous hydrogel composed of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and polyacrylamide (PAAm). The synergistic photothermal and electrothermal effect of the microporous hydrogel enables the dual-driven evaporator to achieve an ultrafast evaporation rate of 16.35 kg m- 2 h- 1 under one sun irradiation with 3 A current input, demonstrating remarkable superiority to other dual-driven evaporators. Even under dark conditions, the evaporator maintains robust performance, achieving an impressive evaporation rate of 6.45 kg m- 2 h-1,-1 , which surpasses existing photothermal-driven systems. Significantly, the integration of the solar-electric dual-driven evaporator with solar panels and a mobile power source creates a water purification system that can achieve closed-loop solar energy utilization. A five consecutive rainy day outdoor validation demonstrates that such a system exhibits an excellent average water collection rate of 3.1 kg m- 2 d-1.-1 . This work provides a convenient and efficient approach to enhance the accessibility of purified water under varying environmental conditions.