Solar-driven Ti3O5/PVA/PAM Frustum-Array Hydrogel Evaporator for Synergistic Water Purification and Photocatalytic Dye Degradation

Solar-driven interfacial evaporation holds great promise for clean water production, particularly in seawater desalination and wastewater purification. However, the limited evaporation performance of evaporators and their incapability to degrade organic contaminants hinder their practical applications. Here, we develop a bifunctional frustum-array solar-driven evaporator with high efficiency in both seawater desalination and photocatalytic dye degradation. Our evaporator, designated as FATPE, is fabricated via a template-assisting method with Ti 3 O 5 /PVA/PAM hydrogels to create a frustum-array structure. Under 1 sun irradiance (1 kW m -2 ), FATPE achieves an exceptional evaporation rate of 4.34 kg m -2 h -1 , energy efficiency of 95.90%FATPE, as well as excellent desalination capability with a salt rejection rate exceeding 99.90% in simulated seawater with varying salinities. Furthermore, FATPE can realize efficient photocatalytic degradation of varying organic pollutants, exemplified with a methylene blue (MB) degradation rate of 85.37%. This work realizes the dual functional synergy of high-efficiency water purification and photocatalytic dye degradation, offering a promising strategy for producing clean water from seawater and dye-contaminated wastewater in coastal regions.