Concentrated solar as a spectrally matched photonic platform for chlorophenol contaminant abatement

High energy demands of artificial UV and inefficient utilization of solar radiation limit the effectiveness of conventional photolytic technologies for refractory pollutants. Herein, we present a concentrated solar light (CSL) system, establishing it as a high-performance photon platform enabling efficient organic pollutant remediation. Preliminary experiments and model evaluations revealed that the CSL system generates localized ultra-high photon flux, with 146-fold UVA and 167-fold UVB enhancement over natural sunlight. Crucially, the irradiance gain achieved through concentrating spot modulation precisely matches the redshifted absorption peaks of common organic pollutants (e.g., 2,4,6-trichlorophenol at 290-340 nm), thereby maximizing the utilization of the amplified solar UV spectrum. This amplified UV drives indirect photochemical pathways, with triplet excited states efficiently generating O₂^·- and ¹O₂ via energy transfer to ground-state oxygen, in contrast to solar degradation which primarily relies on direct photolysis. Self-heating triggers photothermal synergism to significantly accelerate radical chain reactions through molecular thermal motion. The combined spectral and thermal effect elevates highly abundant radical concentration in the reaction medium, where CSL system amplifies O₂^·- and ¹O₂ levels by 3.43-fold and 33.88-fold relative to natural sunlight, respectively. The O₂^·- dominated reductive pathway enhances nucleophilic site accessibility, suppressing oxidative byproduct formation and thereby establishing an efficient selective degradation mechanism. This technology demonstrates robust performance across diverse aqueous matrices, with pilot-scale validation confirming chlorophenols remediation efficacy. Ultimately, the aggregate results from this study highlight CSL leveraging solar amplification as a sustainable and highly efficient zero energy technology for water and wastewater treatment.