An ancient technology of solar-driven water evaporation and distillation has recently been revived due to the concept of interfacial solar evaporation and the development of photothermal materials. There have been many research interests in improving solar light harvesting and solar evaporation efficiency within these systems, including new photothermal materials search, structural engineering, and thermal management. The application horizon of both solar-driven water evaporation and distillation has been broadly expanded beyond their conventional domain, including wastewater treatment, seawater desalination, steam sterilization, electric generation, and chemicals/fuels productions. This dissertation focused on designing of photothermal materials and their practical applications in clean water production.
Le Shi is now a PhD candidate under the supervision of Prof. Peng Wang in WDRC. She received her bachelor degree in Water Science and Engineering from Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT) in China and Master degree in Environmental Science and Engineering from KAUST. Her research involves developing effective photothermal and photocatalytic materials towards water purification and clean water production.