Ligand-functionalized metal-organic framework-based evaporator for synchronous freshwater production and agricultural...

Solar-driven interfacial evaporation has been regarded as a promising method to alleviate water shortage. However, the organic contaminants are commonly accumulated on the evaporator during the evaporation process, which not only reduces the service life of the evaporator but also causes more serious pollution. Herein, a desalination-catalysis-irrigation integrated wood-based evaporator was presented by introducing cyano groups (-CN) in a metal-organic framework (MOF) system (M-NH-CN/wood). The ligand functionalization not only contributes to fine-tuning the bandgap of MOFs to further enhance the light absorption, but also promotes peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation to accelerate the degradation efficiency. Wood modified with MOFs can reduce system enthalpy of evaporation, resulting in a high evaporation rate of 2.24 kg m^-2 h^-1 for M-NH-CN/wood under 1 sun. This novel wood-based evaporator further contributes to the advancement of solar-driven interfacial evaporation and photocatalytic integrated systems, providing new perspectives for environmental remediation and sustainable development of agriculture.