The present application relates to the technical field of high-
salinity wastewater treatment, and discloses a functionally layered integral gel solar
evaporator as well as a preparation method and application thereof. The
evaporator comprises, from top to bottom, a photothermal
evaporation top layer, a heat storage middle layer and a water transmission bottom layer. The photothermal
evaporation top layer is an oil-water dual-phase gel structure, and the
oil phase containing a photothermal material is loaded in the water phase hydrophilic
polymer network. The heat storage middle layer is also an oil-water dual-phase gel structure, and a
phase change material is encapsulated in the
oil phase droplets. The water transmission bottom layer is a single-phase hydrogel structure. The photothermal
evaporation top layer, the heat storage middle layer and the water transmission bottom layer are simultaneously polymerized into an integral structure in situ in the vertical direction from a precursor solution. The present application polymerizes in situ by a one-pot method, and connects the functional
layers into an integral whole without a
physical interface through firm chemical bonds, so that the
evaporator has excellent
mechanical strength and
chemical resistance, and can work stably in complex
shale gas fracturing flowback fluid for a long time without
delamination, swelling or degradation.