Co-Hydrothermal Carbonization Of Cotton Stalks and MnO ₂ For Direct Solar Steamgeneration With High Efficiency

Abstract

Biomass-based photothermal materials for solar steam power generation have been a recent research hotspot. However, despite the many research advances that have been made, many challenges remain. For example, high temperature carbonization leads to the loss of hydrophilicity, the surface coating is easy to peel off, hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) does not guarantee the photothermal performance, and hydrothermal carbonization fluid (HTC-F) is difficult to handle. In this paper, a new material (H-CS/MnO₂) was prepared by co-hydrothermal carbonization of cotton stalks (CS) and MnO₂, and a stable and effective evaporation system was designed. While both ensure super hydrophilicity, the stable loading of MnO2 leads to excellent photothermal performance. Moreover, by means of recycling, not only the treatment of hydrothermal carbonization solution is solved, but also the CDs are continuously enriched and exhibit certain photothermal effects during the recycling process. In addition, H-CS/MnO₂ exhibited excellent salt resistance and corrosion resistance.

Keywords: Cotton stalks, MnO2, Co-hydrothermal Carbonization, Recirculation, Carbon Dots, Solar team generation