Novel Three-Dimensional Cut Umbrella-like Evaporator with Four Angle-Adjustable Evaporation Surfaces in a Submersible Floatation State for Enhanced Seawater Desalination

Solar-driven evaporators provide ecofriendly and efficient solutions for purifying seawater. This study developed a novel three-dimensional (3D) cut umbrella-like evaporator (CUL-evaporator) featuring four angle-adjustable evaporating surfaces incorporating cross-linked poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) into cotton fabric. Notably, the CUL-evaporator with less production material outperforms the full umbrella-like evaporator (FUL-evaporator) in terms of the evaporation rate and pure water production. This superior performance results from the effective utilization of the back sides of the evaporating surface for water evaporation. When positioned at a 22.5° angle, the CUL-evaporator achieved a high evaporation rate of ∼3.45 kg h–1 m–2, benefiting from the gravity-assisted water transport. Furthermore, it performed consistently over 7 days, maintaining an evaporation rate of 3.36 kg h–1 m–2 using simulated seawater (3.5 wt %). The CUL-evaporator also exhibited excellent stability, preventing salt accumulation on the evaporating surface, even with high-concentrated salty water (20 wt % NaCl). Leveraging these characteristics, an outdoor submersible floatation evaporator installation was designed and achieved substantial water production of 7.63 L m–2 within 8 h. This study presented a novel design model for 3D evaporators, offering an effective approach for long-term, stable, and salt-resistant evaporation processes

Organization of cytoskeleton chondrocytes.

<p>Control chondrocytes (A1–A6), chondrocytes treated with 100 μM RV for 12 h (B1–B6), chondrocytes treated with 1.5 mM SNP for 24 h (C1–C6) and chondrocytes pretreated with RV and then treated with SNP (D1–D6), respectively. A4–A6, B4–B6, C4–C6, D4–D6 were enlarged images of cellular cytoskeleton in A1–A3, B1–B3, C1–C3, D1–D3, respectively. Bars in A1–A3, B1–B3, C1–C3, D1–D3 and A4–A6, B4–B6, C4–C6, D4–D6 were 50 and 20 μm, respectively.</p

Morphological data of chondrocytes.

<p>(A1–A2) Control chondrocytes. (A3–A8) The enlargement images of white panes in A1. (B1–B4) Chondrocytes treated with 1.5 mM SNP for 12 h. (C1–C5) The chondrocytes were pretreated with 100 mM of RV for 24 h, and then treated with 1.5 mM of SNP for 12 h. (D1–D3) Histograms of average length, width (D1), height (D2) and ratio of length/width of cells in three groups. In D1–D3, more than ten cells in each group were selected to measure the values. *<i>P</i><0.05 was regarded as statistically significant.</p

AFM ultrastructural data of control chondrocytes.

<p>(A1–A3) Control chondrocytes. (B1–B3) Chondrocytes treated with 1.5 mM SNP for 12 h. (C1–C3) The chondrocytes were pretreated with 100 μM of RV for 24 h, and then treated with 1.5 mM of SNP for 12 h. Scanning area: 2×2 μm². (A1), (B1), (C1) was topography mode. (A2), (B2), (C2) 3-D mode of (A1), (B1) and (C1), respectively. (A3), (B3), (C3) was contour map of (A1), (B1) and (C1), respectively. (D1) and (D2) were histograms of average roughness (Ra) of chondrocytes which were analyzed in 5×5 μm² and 2×2 μm², respectively. In (D1) and (D2), ten cells in each group were selected to measure the values of Ra, statistical analysis was performed using Student's <i>t</i>-test. P<0.05 was regarded as statistically significant.</p

Cytotoxicity of SNP in chondrocytes.

<p>(A) <i>C</i>ell viability of chondrocytes treated by different concentrations of SNP for 24 h. (B) <i>C</i>ell viability of chondrocytes treated by 1.5 mM of SNP for different time periods (comparing with control group, *P<0.05, **P<0.01, ***P<0.001). The results indicated the killing effects of SNP on chondrocytes were in a dose- and time-dependent manner.</p

Forest plot showing the overall proportion of knowledge about COVID-19 among study subjects.

Forest plot showing the overall proportion of knowledge about COVID-19 among study subjects.</p

PRISMA checklist.

(DOC)</p

Forest plot showing the pooled proportion of using specific measures to fight COVID-19 among study subjects.

Forest plot showing the pooled proportion of using specific measures to fight COVID-19 among study subjects.</p

Alterations in nanobiotechnology of chondrocytes detected by AFM.

<p>(A1–A5) isolation of chondrocytes: (A1) Cartilage collected from the bilateral joints of the knees, hips, and shoulders. (A2) The joints were minced into small pieces, treated with 0.015% trypsin for 30 min, and subsequently digested. (A3) Morphology of primary joint chondrocytes. (A4) The morphology of primary joint chondrocytes cultured for 7 days. (A5) The AFM tip was employed to detect the morphology and biomechanics of chondrocytes. (A6) Typical force-distance curve detected using AFM: (1) The tip is approaching the surface of sample, (2) the tip is just in contact with the surface of cells, (3) the tip is further put into repulsive contact with the cellular surface, (4) lastly, the tip-sample contact is retracted. (A7–A9) are the representative force-distance curves obtained on control chondrocytes (A7), chondrocytes treated with 1.5 mM SNP for 12 h (A8), and chondrocytes pretreated with RV and the induce with SNP (A9), respectively. The elasticity maps, histogram of elasticity, adhesion force map and histogram of adhesion force of control chondrocytes (B1–B4), chondrocytes treated with 1.5 mM SNP for 12 h (C1–C4), and chondrocytes pretreated with RV and then cotreated with SNP (A4), respectively.</p

Protection effects of RV on SNP-induced apoptosis of chondrocytes.

<p>Cells were pretreated with different concentrations (0, 25, 50 and 100 mM) of RV for 24 h, and then treated with 1.5 mM of SNP for 12 h. After that, the cell viability was assayed using CCK-8 (comparing with control group, *P<0.05, **P<0.01; comparing with SNP treated group, #P<0.05, ##P<0.01, ###P<0.001).</p