J. Mater. Sci. Technol. ›› 2026, Vol. 248: 99-109.DOI: 10.1016/j.jmst.2025.04.077

• Research article • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Antibacterial and photocatalytic PVDF foam for simultaneous interface evaporation and water purification

Yu Dub,1, Xiao Yangc,1, Ting Wub, Yingying Chenb, Heng Xiea,*, Shupeng Wangc,*, Zhiyong Changc   

  1. aSchool of Materials Science and Engineering, Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan 430205, China;
    bKey Laboratory of Material Chemistry for Energy Conversion and Storage, Ministry of Education, Hubei Key Laboratory of Material Chemistry and Service Failure and Hubei Engineering Research Center for Biomaterials and Medical Protective Materials, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China;
    cKey Laboratory of Bionic Engineering, Ministry of Education, College of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Jilin University, Changchun 130025, China
  • Received:2025-01-05 Revised:2025-04-02 Accepted:2025-04-23 Published:2026-03-20 Online:2025-06-22
  • Contact: *E-mail addresses: hengxie@hust.edu.cn (H. Xie), wsp@jlu.edu.cn (S. Wang)
  • About author:1 These authors contributed equally to this work.

Abstract: Water evaporation and purification have been extensively employed as a viable approach to address the global freshwater crisis. However, the capacity of evaporators to procure potable freshwater from seawater, sewage, and other aqueous environments is limited by challenging conditions. Herein, self-floating PVDF/TiO2/GO foam with micro/nanostructure (MNPFG) and interconnected vapor escape channels is prepared economically and efficiently by combining compression molding and spray coating. The surface micro/nanostructures and inherent properties of PVDF allow the MNPFG to maintain a robust superhydrophobic state under dynamic impacts, extreme temperatures, and acidic, alkaline, or saline solutions, demonstrating a contact angle of 158° and a rolling angle of 9°. The combination of superoxide ions, photothermal effect, and physical puncture effect inhibits bacterial growth and reproduction, resulting in remarkable antibacterial activity (99.9 %) against Escherichia coli. Moreover, the MNPFG exhibits catalytic and degradation rates of 0.019 min-1 and 99 %, respectively. The MNPFG with self-cleaning, antibacterial, and catalytic degradation properties is sufficient for simultaneous interface evaporation and water purification, with the purified water meeting the freshwater standards set by the World Health Organization without any detectable organic or microbial residues. The proposed approach offers an industrialized methodology for the large-scale production of solar evaporators suitable for freshwater generation and purification.

Key words: Micro/nanostructures, Water purification, Interface evaporation, Simultaneous, Antibacterial