In recent years, driven by global freshwater scarcity and energy crises, the synergistic conversion of seawater desalination and green energy has emerged as a research hotspot in materials science. Traditional solar thermal evaporation technologies face severe salt crystallization accumulation during prolonged evaporation cycles, coupled with low energy utilization efficiency, limiting their large-scale practical application. To address these critical bottlenecks, the research team led by Professor Liao Yaozu and Associate Professor Meng Nan from the College of Materials Science and Engineering conducted pioneering research. Drawing inspiration from the selective water transport mechanism of biomimetic aquaporins, they designed a novel conjugated microporous polymer-based composite fiber membrane. This innovative membrane integrates highly efficient antibacterial and anti-salinity properties with photothermal evaporation and thermoelectric power generation capabilities.
Recently, this research achievement was published in the international journal Nature Communications (2025, 16, 6373) under the title “Bioinspired Photothermal Zwitterionic Fibrous Membrane for High-Efficiency Solar Desalination and Electricity Generation.” The paper's first author is Wang Yuzhu, a doctoral candidate at our university, with Liao Yaozu and Meng Nan serving as corresponding authors.
(Salt-Resistant and Antibacterial Bionic Principles and Their Application in Seawater Desalination)
This work employs electrospinning technology and in-situ polymerization to synergistically embed porphyrin-based conjugated microporous polymers (PCPs) with outstanding photothermal properties and zwitterionic polyionic liquids (PILs) possessing ion-selective functionality into PAN nanofiber membranes. This constructs a biomimetic water-selective channel structure, enabling rapid water molecule transport and effective salt ion barrier. Experiments demonstrate that this composite membrane achieves an evaporation rate of 2.64 kgm⁻²h⁻¹ under 1 sun irradiation, with a photothermal conversion efficiency of 97.6%. It exhibits outstanding salt tolerance, operating for 40 hours in high-salinity water without salt crystallization accumulation. Furthermore, the integrated thermoelectric module delivers a stable voltage of 184 mV and a power density of 1.5 Wm⁻², capable of driving small appliances while maintaining high evaporation rates and energy output.
Notably, the membrane exhibits potent antibacterial properties. Leveraging singlet oxygen generated by PCP under illumination, it achieves nearly 99.9% bacterial elimination, ensuring long-term operational stability. The produced freshwater fully complies with WHO drinking water standards and has successfully validated seed cultivation applications, demonstrating promising practical prospects.
This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and the National Key R&D Program, demonstrating the university's cross-disciplinary integration capabilities in high-performance functional fiber materials, biomimetic membrane systems, and sustainable resource conversion. In the future, this photothermal-thermoelectric synergistic evaporation system holds promise for applications such as drinking water purification in high-salinity regions and emergency freshwater collection during rescue operations, offering cutting-edge solutions to global water and energy challenges.
Original link to the article：https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-61244-9
