Biomimetic Design of Porous Polymerized High Internal Phase Emulsion (PolyHIPE)/Hydrogel Solar Evaporator for Salt-resistant Desalination and Energy Generation

Jia-Hui Ni; Ming-Qing Yu; Xin-Ze-Yu Zhang; Yu-Zhu Wang; Yao-Zu Liao

doi:10.1007/s10118-026-3586-9

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Biomimetic Design of Porous Polymerized High Internal Phase Emulsion (PolyHIPE)/Hydrogel Solar Evaporator for Salt-resistant Desalination and Energy Generation

RESEARCH ARTICLE | Updated：2026-04-30

- Biomimetic Design of Porous Polymerized High Internal Phase Emulsion (PolyHIPE)/Hydrogel Solar Evaporator for Salt-resistant Desalination and Energy Generation
- Biomimetic Design of Porous Polymerized High Internal Phase Emulsion (PolyHIPE)/Hydrogel Solar Evaporator for Salt-resistant Desalination and Energy Generation
- Chinese Journal of Polymer Science 2026年44卷第5期页码：1381-1392
- Affiliations：
  
  State Key Laboratory of Advanced Fiber Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China
- Author bio：
  
  1212711@mail.dhu.edu.cn (M.Q.Y.)
  yzliao@dhu.edu.cn (Y.Z.L.)
- Funds：
  
  This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 52373172 and 52473055), the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Nos. 2022YFB3807100 and 2022YFB3807102), the Chang Jiang Scholar Program (No. T2023082), the Shanghai Science and Technology Plan Project (No. 25DX1400200), the Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai (No. 23ZR1401100) and the Key Technology Research and Development Program of Shanghai (No. 25CL2900800).;The authors declare no interest conflict.Electronic supplementary information (ESI) is available free of charge in the online version of this article at http://doi.org/10.1007/s10118-026-3586-9.The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding authors upon reasonable request.
- DOI：10.1007/s10118-026-3586-9
  中图分类号：
- 收稿：2025-12-01，
  
  修回：2026-01-19，
  
  录用：2026-01-23，
  
  网络首发：2026-04-09，
  
  纸质出版：2026-05-05
- Accepted：
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Ni, J. H.; Yu, M. Q.; Zhang, X. Z. Y.; Wang, Y. Z.; Liao, Y. Z. Biomimetic design of porous polymerized high internal phase emulsion (PolyHIPE)/hydrogel solar evaporator for salt-resistant desalination and energy generation. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2026, 44, 1381–1392

Jia-Hui Ni, Ming-Qing Yu, Xin-Ze-Yu Zhang, et al. Biomimetic Design of Porous Polymerized High Internal Phase Emulsion (PolyHIPE)/Hydrogel Solar Evaporator for Salt-resistant Desalination and Energy Generation[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 44(5): 1381-1392.
Ni, J. H.; Yu, M. Q.; Zhang, X. Z. Y.; Wang, Y. Z.; Liao, Y. Z. Biomimetic design of porous polymerized high internal phase emulsion (PolyHIPE)/hydrogel solar evaporator for salt-resistant desalination and energy generation. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2026, 44, 1381–1392 DOI： 10.1007/s10118-026-3586-9.

Jia-Hui Ni, Ming-Qing Yu, Xin-Ze-Yu Zhang, et al. Biomimetic Design of Porous Polymerized High Internal Phase Emulsion (PolyHIPE)/Hydrogel Solar Evaporator for Salt-resistant Desalination and Energy Generation[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 44(5): 1381-1392. DOI： 10.1007/s10118-026-3586-9.

摘要

A biomimetic polymerized high internal phase emulsion (PolyHIPE)-hydrogel evaporator integrates efficient vapor transport

salt resistance

mechanical robustness

and thermoelectric energy harvesting

enabling durable solar-driven desalination with simultaneous freshwater production and electricity generation.

Abstract

Solar-driven interfacial evaporation provides a sustainable solution to freshwater scarcity. However

its practical use is hindered by salt crystallization

the mechanical fragility of existing evaporators

and the substantial low-grade heat generated during evaporation

which is seldom utilized. Herein

drawing functional inspiration from the efficient mass-transport characteristics of the lotus root

we design a biomimetic polymerized high internal phase emulsion (PolyHIPE)-hydrogel composite (SH@FPCP) featuring an interpenetrating network. The interconnected macropores act as rapid vapor-escape pathways

while hydrogel filaments threaded through the pores continuously replenish water and dissolve accumulating salts. The fluorinated polypyrrole-modified PolyHIPE framework provides a strong photothermal response under s

olar irradiation. The SH@FPCP evaporator delivers a high evaporation rate of 3.19 kg·m

−2

·h

−1

with stable salt-resistant operation for over one week. The compressive strength increases to 1298 kPa at 5% strain

highlighting substantial mechanical reinforcement compared with the unmodified hydrogel. Moreover

the SH@FPCP evaporator enables thermoelectric power generation

delivering a power density of 720 mW·m

−2

and an open-circuit voltage of 110 mV. This study provides a novel material design strategy for developing durable and high-performance solar evaporation systems.

关键词

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references

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