Siyuan Zhang

Combining interfacial solar evaporation and advanced oxidation provides a promising approach to ease global energy shortages and water pollution. However, fabricating bifunctional evaporators with excellent photothermal, catalytic and synergistic properties remains a tough technical challenge. In this work, a glass fiber membrane was adopted as the functional substrate to anchor MXene/MIL‐101(Fe) composites, thereby constructing a bifunctional evaporator (M/T‐GFM) integrating photothermal and catalytic capacities. As a photothermal component, MXene captures solar light and converts light energy into thermal energy to boost peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation. Meanwhile, MXene acts as an electron donor to accelerate the Fe ³⁺ /Fe ²⁺ redox cycle within MIL‐101(Fe) via ligand‐to‐metal charge transfer (LMCT). It takes merely 20 min to degrade high‐concentration Reactive Blue 19 (R.B.19) of 100 mg L ⁻¹ completely and 84.32% of phenol in the condensed water, while the water evaporation rate hits 2.49 kg m ⁻² h ⁻¹ . Meanwhile, it exhibits excellent purification on actual dyeing and finishing wastewater. Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations clarify PMS activation over Fe‐O‐Ti and Fe‐O sites. Relying on the synergistic mechanism where MXene‐mediated photothermal conversion and LMCT accelerate the Fe ³⁺ /Fe ²⁺ redox cycle, this study provides a new strategy for concurrent freshwater generation and wastewater remediation combining interfacial evaporation and a PMS based advanced oxidation process.

Enhancing photothermal conversion efficiency and modulating sodium ion transport are crucial for constructing high‐performance solar evaporators. Based on the layer‑pillar‑layer structural design, this study prepared a modular photothermal aerogel evaporator (PM/SFA) composed of MXene/TiO ₂ /nitrogen‑doped carbon nanotube photothermal film (PVDF/MTNC) and sodium alginate/fiber aerogel (SFA). The top photothermal film forms a three‑dimensional layer‑pillar‑layer heterostructure via in‑situ growth of nitrogen‑doped carbon nanotube micropillars between MXene nanosheets, which widens the interlayer spacing and prolongs the optical path to improve light‑harvesting efficiency. The bottom layer uses sodium alginate as the aerogel matrix, with fiber reinforcement to enhance its mechanical properties, ensuring structural and channel integrity under 90 kPa compressive stress. Vertical microchannels are fabricated via directional freezing to reduce water transport tortuosity, and capillary force enables self‐dilution of brine for efficient salt inhibition and continuous desalination. Under one‐sun irradiation, the evaporator delivers an evaporation rate of 3.42 kg·m ⁻² ·h ⁻¹ and an outdoor freshwater yield of 18.42 kg·m ⁻² within 8 h, exhibiting outstanding desalination performance. This work provides a novel strategy for developing high‐performance, salt‐resistant MXene‐based solar evaporators through structural innovations of sodium alginate fiber aerogel and layered photothermal materials.