<![CDATA[This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of developing a chitosan-derived graphene hydrogel for a solar evaporation system. The hydrogel was prepared in two types, i.e. flat-surface and hemispherical-surface hydrogels. The system consisted of a chitosan-derived embedded graphene hydrogel, a cotton wipe, and a thermal insulator. The system was then tested using a solar simulator to investigate the effect of varying irradiation times from 1 to 12 hours. The morphology of the hydrogel was characterised using an inverted microscope before and after irradiation for 1 and 12 hours, respectively. The experimental test includes temperature distribution and water mass loss for the samples before and after irradiation for 1 and 12 hours. The resultant findings provide useful data on the evaporation system efficiency under the simulated conditions. It was reported that the hemispherical-surface hydrogel reached a lower temperature distribution of 52 °C than the flat-surface hydrogel at 57 °C. The water mass loss of the hemispherical-surface hydrogel is as low as -1.22 g, indicating a higher evaporation rate of 0.09205 kgm−2 h−1 than the flat-surface hydrogel of -1.48 g and 0.04568 kgm−2 h−1, respectively. This study reveals that a lower total water mass loss can occur alongside a higher evaporation rate when the surface area exposed to air is very small, as in a hemispherical-surface hydrogel.]]>
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