Bifunctional N-TiO2/C/PU Foam for Interfacial Water Evaporation and Sewage Purification

As an environmentally friendly and clean energy technology, solar-driven interfacial evaporation technology has attracted wide attention. However, organic pollutants can easily pollute distilled water during the evaporation of wastewater. In this work, we report a strategy of N-TiO₂/C solar absorption with a low bandgap (2.33 eV), excellent light absorption ability, and high photothermal conversion efficiency (48.2%). Black N-TiO₂/C was prepared by the sol-gel method in the presence of hexamethylenetetramine as a source of nitrogen and carbon. The simultaneous N doping and C with superior photothermal effect rapidly increased the surface temperature of the material, reduced the recombination rate of electrons and holes, and improved the photocatalytic activity, showing great potential for solar thermal energy conversion. The prepared solar absorbent and polyurethane (PU) were mixed evenly to form a porous N-TiO₂/C/PU (NTCP) foam for purifying water. The evaporator produced clean water at a rate of 1.73 kg m^-2 h^-1 under the simulated sunlight of 1 sun irradiation. Meanwhile, the evaporator simultaneously photodegraded methylene blue (MB) and rhodamine B (RhB) underwater at a removal rate > 90%. The bifunctional solar water evaporation device combining photocatalytic and photothermal effects holds great potential for water purification.