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An Integrated Photocatalytic and Photothermal Process for Solar‐Driven Efficient Purification of Complex Contaminated Water
Author(s) -
Shi Le,
Shi Yusuf,
Zhang Chenlin,
Zhuo Sifei,
Wang Wenbin,
Li Renyuan,
Wang Peng
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
energy technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.91
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 2194-4296
pISSN - 2194-4288
DOI - 10.1002/ente.202000456
Subject(s) - materials science , photothermal therapy , photocatalysis , water splitting , solar energy , rhodamine b , portable water purification , water treatment , chemical engineering , nanotechnology , environmental engineering , process engineering , environmental science , catalysis , chemistry , ecology , biochemistry , engineering , biology
With the water and energy crises becoming critical issues for an increasingly industrialized society, solar‐driven water purification technologies are highly desired for both potable water production and wastewater treatment. Herein, the performance of an integrated photocatalytic and photothermal composite, TiO 2 /Au‐carbon nanotube (TiO 2 /Au‐CNT)‐coated SiC ceramic plate, in complex contaminated water treatment driven by solar energy is investigated. The short‐wavelength part of the solar spectrum is used for simultaneous photo‐oxidation of rhodamine B (RhB) (oxidation efficiency of ≈98.5%) and photo‐reduction of Cr(VI) (reduction efficiency of ≈90.6%) in an integrated solar still device. A Z‐scheme charge transfer mechanism with CNTs as an electron mediator is proposed and discussed for TiO 2 /Au‐CNT‐coated SiC ceramic plate. Meanwhile, the design here allowed the long‐wavelength part of the solar spectrum to be utilized for high‐quality potable clean water production via solar distillation with a solar‐to‐water evaporation efficiency of ≈72%. Therefore, this integrated photocatalytic and photothermal system can be utilized for potable water production and wastewater treatment in the same device with high solar energy utilization efficiency.