Multifunctional Ag3PO4-rGO-Coated Textiles for Clean Water Production by Solar-Driven Evaporation, Photocatalysis, and Disinfection.

Abstract

Solar-driven water evaporation is of great importance for freshwater production via solar distillation and has attracted growing attention recently by the development of heat localization strategies. Yet, when polluted water is used as the source water, solar-driven water evaporation might further deteriorate the pollution. In this study, we report the facile preparation of multifunctional Ag3PO4-reduced graphene oxide (Ag3PO4-rGO) nanocomposite-coated textiles for clean water production by solar-driven water evaporation, photocatalysis, and disinfection. The multifunctional textiles are obtained through coating Ag3PO4-rGO nanocomposites onto cotton textile substrates. The resulting textile can float on the water surface, absorb solar light, and convert it into heat, enhancing the water surface temperature and promoting water evaporation. We show that with Ag3PO4-rGO nanocomposite-coated textiles on the water surface, a high water evaporation rate of 1.31 kg/(m2 h) can be reached under solar light irradiation. Furthermore, the textiles can simultaneously decompose organic dyes and disinfect pathogenic microbes in water, purifying the raw water during solar-driven water evaporation. Such an all-in-one multifunctional textile provides a facile yet sustainable strategy for freshwater production.