A Novel Functionalized MoS2-Based Coating for Efficient Solar Desalination

Abstract

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) has emerged as a promising photothermal material for solar desalination. However, its limitation in integrating with organic substances constrains its application because of the lack of functional groups on its surface. Here, this work presents a functionalization approach to introduce three different functional groups (-COOH -OH -NH2) on the surface of MoS2 by combining them with S vacancies. Subsequently, the functionalized MoS2 was coated on the polyvinyl alcohol-modified polyurethane sponge to fabricate a MoS2-based double-layer evaporator through an organic bonding reaction. Photothermal desalination experiments show that the functionalized material has higher photothermal efficiency. The evaporation rate of the hydroxyl functionalized the MoS2 evaporator evaporation rate is 1.35 kg m−2 h−1, and the evaporation efficiency is 83% at one sun. This work provides a new strategy for efficient, green, and large-scale utilization of solar energy by MoS2-based evaporators.