Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42183176›Full record

ArticleNational science review2026

3D interconnected periodic carbon-tube membrane enabled self-cleaning solar brine treatment and autonomous salt production.

Ning Xu, Qijun Pan, Chun Shen, Ou Qian, Shiqi Fang, Fangming Han, Mengyue Zeng, Songguo Li, Jia Zhu, Wanlin Guo and 1 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in National science review, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Ning XuNational Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Frontiers Science Center for Critical Earth Material Cycling, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Artificial Functional Materials and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China.
Qijun PanKey Laboratory of Materials Physics and Anhui Key Laboratory of Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology, Institute of Solid State Physics, HFIPS, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei 230031, China.
Chun ShenState Key Laboratory of Mechanics and Control for Mechanical Structures, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, China.
Ou QianKey Laboratory of Materials Physics and Anhui Key Laboratory of Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology, Institute of Solid State Physics, HFIPS, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei 230031, China.
Shiqi FangNational Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Frontiers Science Center for Critical Earth Material Cycling, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Artificial Functional Materials and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China.
Fangming HanKey Laboratory of Materials Physics and Anhui Key Laboratory of Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology, Institute of Solid State Physics, HFIPS, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei 230031, China.
Mengyue ZengNational Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Frontiers Science Center for Critical Earth Material Cycling, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Artificial Functional Materials and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China.
Songguo LiNational Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Frontiers Science Center for Critical Earth Material Cycling, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Artificial Functional Materials and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China.
Jia ZhuNational Laboratory of Solid State Microstructures, College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Frontiers Science Center for Critical Earth Material Cycling, Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Artificial Functional Materials and Collaborative Innovation Center of Advanced Microstructures, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China.
Wanlin GuoState Key Laboratory of Mechanics and Control for Mechanical Structures, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, China.
Guowen MengKey Laboratory of Materials Physics and Anhui Key Laboratory of Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology, Institute of Solid State Physics, HFIPS, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei 230031, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Interfacial solar vapor generation, an emerging solar technology, shows great potential for efficient and sustainable water treatment. With the solar thermal energy localized in the interfacial water layer, this approach significantly enhances the evaporation rate. However, as the interfacial water layer typically exists in the evaporator, precipitated salts tend to adhere to the evaporator during evaporation. This not only brings unavoidable performance degradation due to the blockage of incident sunlight and vapor-escaping channels, but also causes a waste of salt resources. Herein, we propose a concept of an interfacial water layer on the evaporator (IWOE), featuring self-cleaning solar brine treatment and autonomous salt production. Further, we experimentally demonstrate this concept by using a rationally tailored 3D carbon-tube (3D-CT) membrane, which reaches an elegant equilibrium of gravity, buoyancy, and surface tension under water. During the solar treatment of saturated brine, salt crystals precipitate and grow within this interfacial water layer, leading to autonomous tilt of the membrane and glide of the salt crystals. Thus, the 3D-CT membrane with IWOE enables autonomous self-cleaning solar brine treatment and salt production from high-concentration brine, showing potential applications in various fields such as wastewater treatment, water-salt separation and sea resource production.

Indexed as

autonomous self-cleaningsalt productionsolar brine treatmentthree-dimensional carbon-tube membrane

Identifiers

PMID42183176
PMCPMC13192534

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.