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Meng X, Wang X, Yin K, Jing Y, Gu L, Tao Z, Ren X, Tang M, Shao X, Sun L, Sun Y, Dai Y, Xiong Y. Integration of photothermal water evaporation with photocatalytic microplastics upcycling via nanofluidic thermal management. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2317192121. [PMID: 38507451 PMCID: PMC10990145 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2317192121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2023] [Accepted: 01/25/2024] [Indexed: 03/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Photothermal heating and photocatalytic treatment are two solar-driven water processing approaches by harnessing NIR and UV-vis light, respectively, which can fully utilize solar energy if integrated. However, it remains a challenge to achieve high performance in both approaches when integrated in a material due to uncontrollable heat diffusion. Here, we report a demonstration of heat confinement on photothermal sites and fluid cooling on photocatalysis sites at the nanoscale, within a well-designed heat and fluid confinement nanofiber reactor. Photothermal and photocatalytic nanostructures were alternatively aligned in electrospun nanofibers for on-demand nanofluidic thermal management as well as easy folding into 3D structures with enhanced light utilization and mass transfer. Such a design showed simultaneously high photothermal evaporation rate (2.59 kg m-2 h-1, exceeding the limit rate) and efficient photocatalytic upcycling of microplastics pollutant into valued products. Enabled by controlled photothermal heating, the valued main product (i.e., methyl acetate) can be evaporated out with 100% selectivity by in situ separation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiangyu Meng
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu211189, China
| | - Xin Wang
- Anhui Engineering Research Center of Carbon Neutrality, School of Chemistry and Materials Science, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, Anhui241000, China
| | - Kuibo Yin
- School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu211189, China
| | - Yao Jing
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu211189, China
| | - Liuning Gu
- School of Civil Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu211189, China
| | - Zequan Tao
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu211189, China
| | - Xinchuan Ren
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu211189, China
| | - Mingyu Tang
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu211189, China
| | - Xinxing Shao
- School of Civil Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu211189, China
| | - Litao Sun
- School of Electronic Science and Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu211189, China
| | - Yueming Sun
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu211189, China
| | - Yunqian Dai
- School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu211189, China
| | - Yujie Xiong
- Anhui Engineering Research Center of Carbon Neutrality, School of Chemistry and Materials Science, Anhui Normal University, Wuhu, Anhui241000, China
- School of Chemistry and Materials Science, Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui230026, China
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