Multifactor numerical analysis of evaporation performance of photothermal materials

The global shortage of fresh-water resources is becoming increasingly serious, while the photothermal evaporation has a broad application in the desalination of seawater. However, the physical modeling for photothermal evaporation is not perfect enough to support further improvement of the evaporation performance of photothermal materials. In this study, a photothermal evaporation model using Ti 3 C 2 -wood as a photothermal material is established. The impact of various external environmental factors, including light intensity, initial ambient temperature and air humidity, on the evaporation performance of photothermal materials has been investigated. Additionally, an internal relationship is created between the photothermal material's evaporation behavior and its physical properties, such as thermal conductivity, surface absorbance, and material thickness. On the basis of analytical research, some conclusions have been demonstrated that the evaporative properties of photothermal materials are positively correlated with light intensity and initial ambient temperature, but opposite to air humidity. Besides, the evaporation performance of photothermal materials is generally enhanced by increases in thermal conductivity, surface absorbance and material thickness. Moreover, it should be pointed out that the numerical analysis indicates if the photothermal material's thickness goes above a particular range, it may lead to insufficient water supply, thereby suppressing the evaporation rate conversely. This work can provide theoretical guidance for exploring the methods to enhance the photothermal material's evaporation performance, which is of great significance to solve the increasingly serious problem of the lack of fresh-water resources.