Photothermal materials possess efficient light absorption and light-to-energy conversion capabilities, and have been widely applied in research on seawater desalination and sewage treatment. However, traditional solar desalination faces challenges such as poor salt resistance, low photothermal conversion efficiency, and the inability to effectively remove wastewater discharged from seawater. In this study, we designed a self-floating solar evaporator with a vertically arranged and porous structure. By employing a simple "impregnation-crosslinking-reduction" method, we induced cross-linking in balsa wood/MXene/MnO2 (MMW). Among them, MXene exhibits exceptionally Superior efficiency in photothermal energy conversion and is widely applied as a photothermal material in the field of seawater desalination. Meanwhile, MnO2 nanoflowers, rich in oxygen vacancies, can effectively activate peroxydisulfate (PDS), demonstrating efficient catalytic performance. Within the evaporator, they spontaneously establish a wet, porous internal structure and specialized water pathways. Under such conditions, The system demonstrates a maximum evaporation capacity of 1.90 kg m-2 h-1, along with an evaporation efficiency of 113.4%. Moreover, the evaporator demonstrates high degradation rates(94.09% for 50 mg L-1 methylene blue and 95.31% for 100 mg L-1 Rhodamine 6G). In addition, this evaporator enables salt to be expelled from its interior to the surface via convection,which can acquire freshwater efficiently and sustainably. Furthermore, we used the purified water collected from evaporation to irrigate mung beans, which were able to germinate and grow normally. This work provides a direction for the application of evaporators and offers an alternative approach to addressing water scarcity and enhancing water utilization.

Integrating of cobalt hydroxyl carbonate with MXene/reduced graphene oxide aerogel for efficient solar-thermal evaporation of wastewater and simultaneous multi-pathway degradation of pollutant mixtures.

Design and fabrication of integrated ternary hybrid nanocomposites based on Ni-MOF/GO/AgNPs: A bi-functional catalyst for simultaneous sensor detection and photocatalytic degradation of dual nitroaromatic antibiotics.

Bifunctional SERS-Fenton micro-nano platform: Integrating ultrasensitive sensing with advanced oxidation for the detection and degradation of organic pollutants in water.

A review of synergistic strategies for photothermal catalytic VOCs degradation: Catalyst design and reaction system optimization

Boosting catalytic dye degradation in Fe2O3 nanozyme through Cu-doping mediated phase transformation

Constructing a heterojunction of Sr-doped g-C3N4 decorated with SrTiO3 for advanced piezo/photo catalytic degradation of TCH antibiotic

Biochemical and functional analysis of a thermostable, xylose-tolerant glycoside hydrolase 43 β-xylosidase from Thermothelomyces thermophilus.

Surface modified hollow and porous magnetoelectric nanosphere with disintegration capability for magnetically assisted catalytic degradation of organic pollutants

Construction of multicomponent FeCuCoMoAlCr high-entropy alloy for ozone catalytic degradation of phenol wastewater from coal chemical industry

Dual-functional UiO-66-(COOH)2 mixed-matrix membrane for integrated radionuclide sequestration and catalytic degradation of pharmaceutical contaminant from water

Morphological effects of cerium oxide on photothermal synergistic catalytic degradation of toluene

A Janus-functional hydrogel membrane for resource-oriented dye desalination and confined catalytic degradation

In this work, a new catalyst with high Fenton-like behavior was synthesized by heterogenizing the inexpensive tris(acetylacetonato)iron(III) complex (Fe(acac)3) into the micropores of ZIF-8 through the facile bottle-around-the-ship approach, which is the first example of encapsulating iron complexes in ZIF-8 micropores for water remediation. The dodecahedron shape and XRD pattern of Fe(acac)3@ZIF-8 catalyst were similar to those of pure ZIF-8, but with the difference that the specific surface area, pore volume, and average pore diameter were decreased as the MOF pores were occupied by this complex. The catalytic degradation of methyl violet 2B (MV) dye was efficiently performed in the presence of Fe(acac)3@ZIF-8 catalyst via the Fenton-like process using hydrogen peroxide as a hydroxyl radical source. The degradation rate of Fe(acac)3@ZIF-8 catalyst was found to be 2.3 and 1.3 times greater than ZIF-8 and Fe(acac)3 complex separately, showing that the cooperation between zinc(II) and iron(III) can result in enhanced hydroxyl radical formation and, consequently, increased MV degradation.

The continuous detection of emerging pollutants (EPs) in water poses potential threats to aquatic environmental safety and human health, and their efficient removal is a frontier in environmental engineering research. This review systematically summarizes research progress from 2005 to 2025 on the application of activated carbon (AC) and its composites for removing EPs from water and analyzes the development trends in this field using bibliometric methods. The results indicate that research has evolved from the traditional use of AC for adsorption to the design of novel materials through physical and chemical modifications, as well as composites with metal oxides, carbon-based nanomaterials, and other functional components, achieving high adsorption capacity, selective recognition, and catalytic degradation capabilities. Although AC-based materials demonstrate considerable potential, their large-scale application still faces challenges such as cost control, adaptability to complex water matrices, material regeneration, and potential environmental risks. Future research should focus on precise material design, process integration, and comprehensive life-cycle sustainability assessment to advance this technology toward highly efficient, economical, and safe solutions, thereby providing practical strategies for safeguarding water resources.

Abstract Water contamination poses a serious threat to both the environment and human health, making efficient water purification a global priority. Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), composed of metal ions and organic ligands forming porous crystalline structures, have emerged as promising materials for this purpose due to their high surface area, tunable chemistry, and structural versatility. These properties enable MOFs to function effectively as adsorbents, photocatalysts, and sensors for water pollutants. Recent studies have demonstrated that Zr‐based MOFs, such as UiO‐66, can efficiently remove heavy metals like Pb 2 + and Cd 2 + from industrial wastewater, while Ti‐based MOFs have been applied as photocatalysts to degrade persistent organic dyes under visible light. This review highlights such advances in MOF design and application, including their use in adsorption, catalytic degradation, and contaminant detection via colorimetry, electrochemistry, luminescence, and surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy. This review highlights recent advances in MOFs for the removal and degradation of contaminants, their applications in detection techniques such as colorimetry, electrochemistry, luminescence, and surface‐enhanced Raman spectroscopy, and the challenges and opportunities associated with their practical implementation. The chemical tunability, stability, and reusability of MOFs establish them as highly suitable candidates for sustainable water purification, offering significant potential for environmental applications.

Inkjet-printed gold nanotape (AuNTp) structures embedded in polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogels provide a reusable, high-surface-area platform for catalytic degradation of phenol and 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) under ambient conditions. AuNTps, featuring distinct three-dimensional "heads" and atomically thin quasi-one-dimensional "tails", enhanced catalytic activity in both reduction and oxidation reactions. Compared to spherical gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), AuNTps are nearly twice as catalytically efficient for 4-NP reduction on a per-mass basis, reflecting the influence of anisotropic morphology on surface-sensitive electron transfer. In contrast, phenol oxidation shows weaker morphology dependence, likely proceeding through hydroxyl radical-mediated pathways that are less sensitive to catalyst shape or facet structure. To enable rapid substrate diffusion and facilitate reuse, AuNTps were formulated into PVA inks and inkjet-printed into micrometre-thick hydrogel mesh architectures (8 to 15 µm thick). Although printed meshes show reduced activity relative to free AuNTps in solution, they achieve a nearly fourfold increase in mass-normalised rate constants for 4-NP reduction compared to drop-cast gels (0.24 × 104 vs. 0.07 × 104 min-1 g-1) and achieve 26% phenol, a common water pollutant, in 4 hours at room temperature, with consistent performance over multiple cycles. These findings demonstrate the potential of inkjet-printed nanozyme hydrogels as scalable, heterogeneous catalysts. Further improvements may be achieved by optimising catalyst-matrix interactions to reduce diffusion and accessibility barriers. This work addresses a significant challenge in nanozyme catalysis: translating high-performance nanomaterials into practical, reusable formats suitable for environmental remediation.

Catalyst in-situ regeneration for polychlorinated biphenyl tail gas degradation and catalytic activity recovery mechanisms.

When biomass meet microplastic during dyeing sludge incineration: The impacts on thermal characteristics, gas evolution, and chlorine cycle.

All-in-one self-floating cellulose aerogels for simultaneous solar interfacial evaporation and catalytic degradation