Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 27, 2025
Synthesis of Hydrogels with Antifouling Properties As Membranes for Water Purification
Published on: April 7, 2017
Superhydrophilic and highly elastic monolithic sponge for efficient solar-driven radioactive wastewater treatment
Kaifu Yu1, Pengfei Shao1, Pengwei Meng1
1Nuclear Waste and Environmental Safety Key Laboratory of Defense, State Key Laboratory of Environment-friendly Energy Materials, National Co-innovation Center for Nuclear Waste Disposal and Environmental Safety, Sichuan Civil-military Integration Institute, School of National Defence Science & Technology, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang 621010, China.
Abstract:
As an effective way to obtain solar energy and separate the soluble contaminants from water, solar-driven interfacial evaporation is used in desalination, wastewater treatment, electricity generation, and domestic water heating system. Herein, we demonstrate a monolithic sponge with three-dimensional porous structure as the solar-energy evaporator, which is composed of hydrophilic polymer (Konjac Glucomannan, KGM) and solar absorbent (reduced graphene oxide, rGO). Under one sun irradiation, the sponge achieves a rapid evaporation rate (1.60 kg m-2 h-1) and high interfacial water evaporation efficiency (92 %) due to its good absorption, photothermal, thermal insulation, and fast water transport properties. Meanwhile, the concentrations of radioactive elements (strontium, cesium, and uranium) in wastewater dropped from grams to micrograms after purification, even under radiation and acidic conditions. Additionally, the durability and repeatability of the sponge also have been verified. The results showed that solar-driven interfacial evaporation can effectively treat radioactive wastewater and enrich various radionuclides in a more energy-saving manner.
