Photothermal Conversion Material Derived from Used Cigarette Filters for Solar Steam Generation

Solar steam generation by photothermal materials has recently emerged as a new and feasible approach to effectively harvest solar energy in a variety of applications. This work reports an efficient heat localization material based on the renewable cellulose acetate cigarette filters and a reduced graphene oxide coating (RGO‐CF) as the light‐to‐heat conversion layer for solar steam generation. RGO‐CF possessed an aligned structure with superhydrophilic nature, lower thermal conductivity (0.0733 Wm−1 K−1), and broad light adsorption (≈100 %). These characteristics enable rapid water transportation and excellent light‐to‐heat conversion by the resulting RGO‐CF with an energy conversion efficiency of 94 % under stimulated solar illumination (1 kW m−2), which demonstrates that RGO‐CF is a promising photothermal conversion material for solar steam generation. Such strategy for preparation of photothermal materials not only reduces the fabrication cost but also provides a fundamental guidance for the practical application of renewable polymer resources from used cigarette filters. Stubs for sustainability! Renewable cellulose acetate cigarette filters are used to develop an efficient heat localization material for solar steam generation. The proposed methodology provides a guidline for the practical application of renewable polymer resources from used cigarette filters.