Manipulating hydropathicity/hydrophobicity properties to achieve anti-corrosion copper-based membrane toward high-efficient solar water purification

Abstract

The development of corrosion-resistant and highly effective solar-thermal evaporators for water purification is of key importance to alleviate freshwater scarcity around the world. Herein, we propose a novel evaporator by integrating polydopamine and n-dodecanethiol-decorated Cu@Cu2O foam into an organic and inorganic hybrid membrane (PTDC). A high solar absorbance of 92% was observed from the PTDC under 1 sun irradiation, leading to an efficient localized photothermal conversion. The intrinsic hydrophilicity of PTDC allows it to exhibit outstanding performance for salts, dyes, and heavy metals removal in both simulated seawater and wastewater, with a water evaporation rate of 1.58 kg m−2 h−1 and high rejection ratios of over 99%. More crucially, the surface chemical treatment of copper-based foam demonstrated excellent corrosion-resistant ability, enabling the PTDC membrane to be utilized for continuous water desalination and decontamination. Taken together, the PTDC membrane offers great potential for the future application of long-term practical solar-energy-driven water purification.