Natural phenolic compound–iron complexes: sustainable solar absorbers for wood-based solar steam generation devices

Abstract

Wood-based solar steam generation devices (W-SSGDs) show great promise for desalination and wastewater treatment since they are cheap and sustainable. The fabrication of green, sustainable and efficient solar-to-thermal materials for use in W-SSGDs, however, remains a challenge. Here, we have developed coordination complexes between Fe³⁺ and naturally occurring phenolic compounds as solar-to-thermal materials. The as-prepared solar-to-thermal material prepared by coordinating Fe³⁺ with catechin showed wide optical absorbance and efficient conversion efficiency, and was stable under different pH conditions. The good photothermal properties of this as-prepared solar-to-thermal material allowed us to construct a high performance W-SSGD that had a steam generation efficiency of 54.32% and an evaporation rate as high as 0.9204 kg m⁻² h⁻¹.