Solar-driven evaporation technology is often used in areas with limited access to clean water, as it provides a low-cost and sustainable method of water purification. Avoiding salt accumulation is still a substantial challenge for continuous desalination. Here, an efficient solar-driven water harvester that consists of strontium-cobaltite-based perovskite (SrCoO₃) anchored on nickel foam (SrCoO₃@NF) is reported. Synced waterways and thermal insulation are provided by a superhydrophilic polyurethane substrate combined with a photothermal layer. The structural photothermal properties of SrCoO₃ perovskite have been extensively investigated through state-of-the-art experimental investigations. Multiple incident rays are induced inside the diffuse surface, permitting wideband solar absorption (91%) and heat localization (42.01 °C @ 1 sun). Under 1 kW m⁻² solar intensity, the integrated SrCoO₃@NF solar evaporator has an outstanding evaporation rate (1.45 kg/m² h) and solar-to-vapor conversion efficiency (86.45% excluding heat losses). In addition, long-term evaporation measurements demonstrate small variance under sea water, illustrating the system’s working capacity for salt rejection (1.3 g NaCl/210 min), which is excellent for an efficient solar-driven evaporation application compared to other carbon-based solar evaporators. According to the findings of this research, this system offers significant potential for producing fresh water devoid of salt accumulation for use in industrial applications.

Developing a sustainable environment requires addressing primitive water scarcity and water contamination. Antibiotics such as oxytetracycline (OTC) may accumulate in the environment and in the human body, increasing the risks to the ecosystem. The treatment of polluted water and the production of potable water can be achieved in a variety of ways, including photodegradation, solar distillation, and filtration. Freshwater supplies can be increased by implementing energy-efficient technologies for the production of clean water. Solar water evaporation combined with photocatalytic degradation and sterilization offers a promising avenue for integration into the clean water and energy production fields. The present study reports the synthesis of a 3D solar steam generator comprised of BiVO₄ and carbon nanotubes (CNT) nanocomposite decorated over a cigarette filter as the light-to-heat conversion layer for solar steam generation. The BiVO₄@CNT-based 3D solar evaporator over the hydrophilic cellulosic fibers of the cigarette filter endowed excellent evaporation rates (2.36 kg m⁻² h⁻¹) under 1 kW m⁻² solar irradiation, owing to its superior hydrophilicity and broadband solar absorption (96%) equipped with localized heating at microscale thermal confinement optimized by the minimum thermal conductivity of the overall system. Furthermore, the BiVO₄@CNT composite exhibited a heightened photo activity up to 83% of the photodegradation of oxytetracycline (OTC) antibiotic due to the inhibition of charge recombination from the industrial effluents. This approach transforms the water-energy nexus into a synergistic bond that offers opportunities to meet expected demand, rather than being competitive.

Water scarcity is a serious issue which is increasing gradually due to rapid industrialization and population explosion. Biomass-inspired photothermal materials are of great importance due to their low-cost and enhanced photothermal conversion efficiencies. Herein, a pyrolyzed honokiol biochar (HB) is successfully synthesized to fabricate a self-regenerating solar evaporating system for in situ freshwater, and salt collection from seawater. The pyrolyzed biochar was innovatively printed onto a non-woven fabric (HB@NF) that exhibits excellent solar absorption (96%), and efficient stability in seawater. The self-regenerating structure is constructed in two parts: (1) HB-printed fabric as a photothermal layer for efficient solar-to-vapor conversion efficiencies (93%) under 1 kW m⁻². (2) Umbrella-like centralized seawater supply via cigarette filter to achieve the Marangoni effect for in situ water evaporation and salt collection. More importantly, effective thermal management achieved efficient heat accumulation (48.5 °C) under one sun intensity (1 kWm⁻²), and its validation is also demonstrated in a COMSOL heat transfer simulation. Furthermore, a series of experiments on salt collection over different periods, evaporation stability under different cycles, and rejection of primary metal ions via Inductively Coupled Plasma–Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP–OES) have been investigated. It is believed that this work will create new avenues regarding in situ freshwater and minerals recovery from seawater.

There is tremendous potential for both small- and large-scale applications of low-temperature operational ceramic fuel cells (LT-CFCs), which operate between 350 °C and 550 °C. Unfortunately, the low operating temperature of CFCs was hampered by inadequate oxygen reduction electrocatalysts. In this work, the electrochemical characteristics of a semiconductor heterostructure composite based on WO₃-CaFe₂O₄ deposited over porous Ni-foam are investigated. At low working temperatures of 450–500 °C, the developed WO₃-CaFe₂O₄ pasted on porous Ni–foam heterostructure composite cathode exhibits very low area-specific resistance (0.78 Ω cm²) and high oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity. For button-sized SOFCs with H₂ and atmospheric air fuels, we have demonstrated high-power densities of 508 mW cm⁻² running at 550 °C, and even potential operation at 450 °C, using WO₃-CaFe₂O₄ seeded on porous Ni-foam cathode. Moreover, WO₃-CaFe₂O₄ composite heterostructure with Ni foam paste exhibits very low activation energy compared to both WO₃ and CaFe₂O₄ alone, which supports ORR activity. To comprehend the enhanced ORR electrocatalytic activity of WO₃-CaFe₂O₄ pasted on porous Ni-foam heterostructure composite, several spectroscopic tests including X-ray diffraction (XRD), photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were used. The findings may also aid in the creation of useful cobalt-free electrocatalysts for LT-SOFCs.

In this analysis, we study the thermodynamic properties, phase structure, and critical behavior of a nonlinear electrodynamics charged black hole. Considering both the grand canonical and canonical ensembles, we employ the Bekenstein entropy and its non-extensive R é nyi generalization. The R é nyi parameter rescales the temperature and modifies the response functions, thereby shifting the stability windows and critical points. In the extended phase space, we derive a modified Smarr relation and the associated equation of state. Heat capacity divergences indicate second-order transitions, while the free energy structure exhibits first-order small-large black hole transitions: a Hawking-Page type transition in the grand canonical ensemble and a Van der Waals-like swallowtail in the canonical ensemble.