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The emerging solar interfacial evaporation (SIE) technology is an effective measure to address freshwater resources. An efficient and stable solar interfacial evaporator cannot be achieved without the synergy of three key factors: water transport, solar thermal conversion, and thermal management. The performance of a solar interfacial evaporator can be improved through the rational selection of materials and the structural design of these three key factors. Due to superior nanostructures, electrospun nanofibrous materials often exhibit some unique properties that facilitate the construction of solar interface evaporators with good performance. So far, electrospinning has been used to prepare structures such as solar absorbers, water transportation, and thermal insulation in various solar interfacial evaporators. This review presents the fundamental research and technological development in the application of electrospinning techniques to solar interfacial evaporators on structures, morphology, and properties. Then, the latest advances in the use of electrospinning technology in solar interfacial evaporators are summarized and the current issues facing the application of electrospinning technology to solar interfacial evaporators are presented. These systematic discussions can provide ideas and approaches for the rational design of electrospun nanofiber materials for solar interfacial evaporators in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The non-uniform ion deposition of zinc anodes forming zinc dendrites and the side reactions hinder the large-scale application of zinc ion batteries (ZIBs). Herein, a functional SPSF@PMIA (SP) separator is reported to achieve a dendrite-free and stable zinc anode by regulating the uniform deposition of zinc ions. The SP separator with micro–nano-sized porosity provides more ion paths and facilitates the deposition of zinc ions. At the same time, the –SO3− in repelling anions and the negatively charged –CO–NH– are susceptible to electrostatic attraction with zinc ions, which allows the selective passage of zinc ions and directs its orderly deposition on the zinc anode surface. As a result, zinc anodes equipped with SP separators showed extremely long cycle life (over 1000 h), low voltage hysteresis (58 mV at 1 mA cm−2) and high coulombic efficiency (97.8%). In addition, the SP separator reduces the nucleation overpotential of zinc ions, which greatly alleviates anodic corrosion and promotes homogeneous nucleation of zinc ions. More importantly, the SP separator has excellent ionic conductivity and wide applicability, which can be configured with different electrolytes and different combinations of cathode materials, and shows outstanding reversibility over thousands of cycles. This work shows that the use of separators to regulate ion deposition is an effective strategy to achieve dendritic free zinc anodes and provides a new perspective for research into developing long-life, high-stability, and low-cost separators for ZIBs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past few years, biomass carbon materials have gained wide attention from many scholars as TiO2 carrier materials to improve photocatalytic activity due to their renewable, green, low-cost, and high-efficiency advantages. In this study, TiO2/carbonized waste rabbit fibers (TiO2/CRFs) nanocomposites with the hierarchical microporous/mesoporous structure were fabricated by a combination of carbonization, immersion, and calcination methods using tetrabutyl titanate as the titanium source and waste rabbit hair as the carbon source. The properties and catalytic activity of TiO2/CRFs composite were evaluated based on several characterization techniques and methylene blue (MB) photodegradation studies. The results showed that the degradation of MB by TiO2/CRFs could reach 98.1% after 80 min of solar irradiation. Moreover, TiO2/CRFs still maintained high photocatalytic activity after five cycles of degradation tests, exhibiting good stability and reusability. The improved photocatalytic performance of TiO2/CRFs materials is attributed to the natural carbon and nitrogen element doping of TiO2/CRFs and its morphology, which reduces the compounding of photogenerated electron-hole pairs and narrows the TiO2 band gap, while the multiple reflections of visible light in the pore channels enhance the visible light absorption of the materials. Furthermore, the large specific surface area provides abundant reaction sites for adsorbed reactants. This paper provides the experimental basis for the application of waste rabbit biomass carbon composites in photocatalytic degradation field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing demand for safer electrical energy storage has stimulated the pursuit of alternative advanced batteries. Aqueous Zn ion batteries (ZIBs) are receiving increasing attention due to their high safety, low cost, and environmental friendliness. However, the long-standing issues of low coulombic efficiency (CE) and poor cycle life of Zn anodes, influenced by dendrites and side reactions (hydrogen evolution and corrosion), have seriously hindered their practical application. Here, we begin with issues encountered by Zn metal in aqueous electrolytes (dendrites, hydrogen evolution and corrosion) and analyze its formation processes and mechanisms. Then, recent advances in advanced material and structural designs based on different battery components to suppress Zn dendrites and side reactions are summarized in detail, including designing anode structures, modifying the electrolyte, optimizing the separator and developing polymer electrolytes. Finally, opinions on current challenges and perspectives on future research directions are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]