Flexible Pt₃Ni-S-Deposited Teflon Membrane with High Surface Mechanical Properties for Efficient Solar-Driven Strong...

Solar-driven water evaporation provides a promising solution to the energy crisis and environmental issues. Capitalizing on the high photothermal conversion efficiency and excellent resistance to strong acids or strong alkalis of Pt₃Ni-S nanowires, we strategically design and prepare a flexible Pt₃Ni-S-deposited Teflon (PTFE) membrane for achieving efficient strong acid/alkaline water evaporation under simulated sunlight irradiation (1 sun). By comparing the surface morphology, mechanical properties, and water evaporation performance of the as-prepared three different membranes, we have screened out a high-performance photothermal membrane that has good hydrophobicity (water contact angle = 106°), strong mechanical properties, high light-to-heat conversion efficiency (η = 80%), and excellent durability (10 cycles in a range of pH = 1.2-12). In particular, we explore the mechanism of high surface mechanical properties of the as-prepared membrane using density functional theory. The results demonstrate that the related mechanism can be ascribed to two main reasons: (1) hydrogen bonds can be formed between the 2-pyrrolidone ring and PTFE-3 and (2) the O atom in PTFE-3 carries more negative charge (-0.19 |e|) than PTFE-1 (-0.16 |e|) and PTFE-2 (-0.15 |e|). Our work highlights the great potentials of a Pt₃Ni-S-deposited PTFE membrane as a device for implementing solar energy-driven evaporation of industrial wastewater with strong acidity or alkalinity and provides a new strategy for improving the surface mechanical properties of a photothermal membrane.