CuBTC-derivatives engineered into aerogel for water remediation: Solar-thermal desalination and pollutant degradation via peroxymonosulfate activation

Integrating derivatives of Cu-organic frameworks (CuBTC) into robust macroscopic architectures while preserving their intrinsic porosity and multifunctionality is crucial for advancing their practical application in environmental technologies. Herein, a multifunctional CuBTC-derivatives aerogel is engineered via a facile sol–gel process followed by vacuum drying for high-performance water purification. The resulting monolithic aerogel exhibits a hierarchically porous three-dimensional network with exceptional structural integrity and stability. This architecture demonstrates outstanding solar-thermal conversion capabilities, enabling highly efficient solar-driven interfacial desalination with an elevated evaporation rate and remarkable energy efficiency. Under 1 sun, the CuBTC-350-aerogel evaporator achieved water evaporation rate of 2.06 kg m⁻²h⁻¹ and efficiency of 91.5 % for pure water. The evaporator demonstrated exceptional stability, maintaining its evaporation capacity over 15 consecutive cycles of seawater desalination. Additionally, it exhibited remarkable salt-rejection performance, as evidenced by the rapid dissolution of 0.5 g of salt crystals pre-deposited on its surface under illumination. Moreover, the CuBTC-350 aerogel acts as a superior peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activator, facilitating the rapid generation of active species for the effective degradation of organic pollutants, such as tetracycline (TC) and methyl orange (MO). The synergistic coupling of solar desalination and catalytic oxidation in one integrated aerogel system offers a sustainable and versatile platform for comprehensive water treatment, harnessing solar energy simultaneously for freshwater production and contaminant destruction.