Multifunctional solar water harvester with high transport selectivity and fouling rejection capacity

Shortage of clean water continues to grow around the world, and the recent solar-powered interfacial system has emerged as a sustainable, efficient and CO2-neutral approach to produce clean water. However, complex contaminants in surface water accompanied with environment pollution set huge obstacles for harvesting clean water via previous strategies. Here we develop a solar-powered graphene/alginate hydrogel (GAH)-based clean water extractor of super resistance to the transport of complex contaminants and ultra-antifouling capacity. This GAH features a high selectivity in water transport by rejecting >99.5% of volatile organic compounds, >99.3% of ions (Na+, Mg2+, K+ and Ca2+) and 100% of non-volatile organic compounds and bacteria; meanwhile, GAH is capable of rejecting oil adhesion by forming a large contact angle >140° under water, deactivating nearly 100% bacteria on surface and preventing salt crystallization. Given such promising adaptability to a wide environment, this GAH can directly convert surface water of complex components into safe drinkable water.

Xuanzhang Hao, Houze Yao, Panpan Zhang, Qihua Liao, Kaixuan Zhu, Jian Chang, Huhu Cheng, Jiayin Yuan, Liangti Qu