A Salt-Resistant and Antibacterial Cu2ZnSnS4-Based Hydrogel for High Efficient Photothermal Distillation in Seawater Desalination and Sewage Purification

Graphical A porous Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 -based photothermal hydrogel (CZTS-PH) was successfully prepared using a foaming process, which exhibited an impressive evaporation rate of 3.249 kg m −1 h −1 and solar-to-vapor conversion efficiency of 96.3 % under 1 sun illumination. Furthermore, the CZTS-PH showed excellent salt resistance and antibacterial performance for its long-term stability and safety of clean water. Solar steam generation technology (SSGT) using unlimited solar energy is regarded as one of the most promising sustainable technologies to produce clean water. However, most of studies on SSGT simply focus on how to improve salt resistance as well as exclude inorganic and organic pollutants in targeted water, and only very limited studies pay attention to the micro-organisms in the collected water. Herein, one porous Cu 2 ZnSnS 4 -based photothermal hydrogel (CZTS-PH) with antibacterial properties as well as good salt resistance was successfully prepared. The CZTS-PH was measured with the water evaporation rate as high as 3.249 kg m −2 h −1 and photothermal conversion efficiency of 96.3 % under one sun irradiation. Impressively, owing to the amino groups in the skeleton, CZTS-PH can significantly deteriorate the cell membrane and lead to the death of the Escherichia coli ( E. coli ) and Staphylococcus aureus ( S. aureus ), which ensures its long-term stability photothermal conversion and the safety of clean water. Overall, the admired photothermal conversion efficiency, and the excellent salt resistance and antibacterial performance suggest that CZTS-PH could be a promising full-scale device applied in seawater desalination and water purification.