Zhang Na, Zhang Jiaojiao, Zhu Xiaohui, Yuan Shideng, Wang Dong, Xu Haoran, Wang Zhining
Shandong Key Laboratory of Water Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, People's Republic of China.
Nano Lett. 2024 Jan 17;24(2):724-732. doi: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.3c04159. Epub 2024 Jan 2.
Photothermal membrane distillation (PMD) has emerged as a promising and sustainable approach for seawater desalination and wastewater purification. However, the wide application of the technique is severely impeded by low freshwater production and membrane fouling/wetting issues. Herein, we developed an advanced hydrogel-engineered membrane with simultaneously enhanced photothermal conversion capacity and desired fouling and wetting resistance for PMD. By the synergies of photothermal TiCT MXene nanosheets and the tannic acid-Fe network in the hydrogel, the membrane was endowed with excellent surface self-heating ability, yielding the highest freshwater production rate (1.71 kg m h) and photothermal efficiency among the fabricated hydrogel composite membranes under 1 sun irradiation. Meanwhile, the PMD membrane could robustly resist oil-induced fouling and surfactant-induced wetting, significantly extending the membrane lifespan in treating contaminated saline water. Furthermore, when desalinating real seawater, the membrane exhibited superior durability with a stable vapor flux and excellent ion rejection (e.g., 99.24% for boron) for 100 h.
光热膜蒸馏（PMD）已成为一种用于海水淡化和废水净化的有前景且可持续的方法。然而，该技术的广泛应用受到淡水产量低以及膜污染/润湿问题的严重阻碍。在此，我们开发了一种先进的水凝胶工程膜，其具有同时增强的光热转换能力以及用于PMD的所需抗污染和抗润湿性能。通过光热TiCT MXene纳米片与水凝胶中鞣酸 - 铁网络的协同作用，该膜具有出色的表面自热能力，在1个太阳辐射下，在所制备的水凝胶复合膜中产生了最高的淡水生产率（1.71 kg m⁻² h⁻¹）和光热效率。同时，该PMD膜能够强有力地抵抗油引起的污染和表面活性剂引起的润湿，显著延长了处理受污染盐水时的膜寿命。此外，在对实际海水进行脱盐时，该膜表现出卓越的耐久性，在100小时内具有稳定的蒸汽通量和出色的离子截留率（例如，硼的截留率为99.24%）。
