Fabrication of Laser-Induced Graphene/MoS2/PVA@Melamine Evaporators for Rapid Solar Steam Generation
- 1Physics Department, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia
Abstract
The increasing global water scarcity, driven by population growth, industrialization, and climate change, has created an urgent need for sustainable and efficient water desalination. This study focuses on developing a solar-driven steam generation (SSG) desalination system that uses photothermal materials (PTMs), such as molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) and graphene produced via laser-induced graphene (LIG), to enhance evaporation efficiency. The system was prepared by coating melamine foam (MF), used as the base, with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) at varying concentrations (0.6 wt%–1.4 wt%), with the 1 wt% concentration showing the highest evaporation rate. MoS2 (1 wt%) was incorporated to improve light absorption. The final step involved graphitization and surface modification via the LIG technique, using a 450 ± 5 nm visible laser to induce structural changes. The effects of laser power and scribing density (Lines-Per-Inch, LPI) on the evaporation rate and efficiency were investigated. The optimal configuration, consisting of 1 wt% PVA, 1 wt% MoS2, 0.5 W laser power, and 300 LPI, significantly enhanced light absorption to 77%, compared with 65% in the baseline sample. This Janus configuration achieved an evaporation rate of 1.925 kg m−2 h−2 in saline water (3.5% sodium chloride (NaCl)) under 1 kW/m2 solar irradiance, corresponding to an apparent evaporation efficiency of ~98%. The integration of material engineering improves the SSG system’s performance. The system demonstrated excellent stability over 10 cycles in a saline environment, with no significant performance degradation. Using the combined advantages of PVA, MoS2 and LIG offers a scalable, cost-effective, and energy-efficient approach, making it a promising system for sustainable desalination and the water scarcity crisis.
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BibTeX
@article{ganash2026fabrication,
title = {{Fabrication of Laser-Induced Graphene/MoS2/PVA@Melamine Evaporators for Rapid Solar Steam Generation}},
author = {Entesar A. Ganash and Salihah A. Al-zahrani and Hala A. Al-Jawhari and Reem M. Altuwirqi},
journal = {Polymers},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.3390/polym18212778},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/18/21/2778},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Fabrication of Laser-Induced Graphene/MoS2/PVA@Melamine Evaporators for Rapid Solar Steam Generation
AU - Entesar A. Ganash
AU - Salihah A. Al-zahrani
AU - Hala A. Al-Jawhari
AU - Reem M. Altuwirqi
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/07
JO - Polymers
DO - 10.3390/polym18212778
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/18/21/2778
AB - The increasing global water scarcity, driven by population growth, industrialization, and climate change, has created an urgent need for sustainable and efficient water desalination. This study focuses on developing a solar-driven steam generation (SSG) desalination system that uses photothermal materials (PTMs), such as molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) and graphene produced via laser-induced graphene (LIG), to enhance evaporation efficiency. The system was prepared by coating melamine foam (MF), used as the base, with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) at varying concentrations (0.6 wt%–1.4 wt%), with the 1 wt% concentration showing the highest evaporation rate. MoS2 (1 wt%) was incorporated to improve light absorption. The final step involved graphitization and surface modification via the LIG technique, using a 450 ± 5 nm visible laser to induce structural changes. The effects of laser power and scribing density (Lines-Per-Inch, LPI) on the evaporation rate and efficiency were investigated. The optimal configuration, consisting of 1 wt% PVA, 1 wt% MoS2, 0.5 W laser power, and 300 LPI, significantly enhanced light absorption to 77%, compared with 65% in the baseline sample. This Janus configuration achieved an evaporation rate of 1.925 kg m−2 h−2 in saline water (3.5% sodium chloride (NaCl)) under 1 kW/m2 solar irradiance, corresponding to an apparent evaporation efficiency of ~98%. The integration of material engineering improves the SSG system’s performance. The system demonstrated excellent stability over 10 cycles in a saline environment, with no significant performance degradation. Using the combined advantages of PVA, MoS2 and LIG offers a scalable, cost-effective, and energy-efficient approach, making it a promising system for sustainable desalination and the water scarcity crisis.
SN - 2073-4360
ER -