Photo-Fenton-Active MIL-88A/CNT-Based PVA Hydrogel for Solar-Driven Water Evaporation and Simultaneous Volatile Organic Compound Removal

Solar-driven interfacial water evaporation (SIWE) has emerged as a promising avenue for cost-effective freshwater production from seawater or wastewater. However, the simultaneous evaporation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) presents a limitation for the widespread implementation of this technique. Thus, developing dual-functional evaporators capable of both desalining seawater and degrading VOCs is challenging. Herein, we fabricated an iron-based metal-organic framework MIL-88A/carbon nanotubes (CNTs) poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogel (MCH) evaporator via the conventional freezing method for solar-driven seawater desalination and simultaneous photo-Fenton VOC degradation. Because of the superior photothermal conversion capability of CNTs, reduced thermal conductivity and water evaporation enthalpy within the hydrogel, and the photo-Fenton activity of rod-shaped MIL-88A, the MCH evaporator exhibits a higher evaporation rate of 2.26 kg m