Harnessing Photothermal graphene oxide interlayers for high-flux solar-driven pervaporation desalination

Tang, Cheng , Hu, Jie , Yue, Tingting , Hu, Xiufeng , Yu, Wei , Lei, Hui

2026-06-19 SEPARATION AND PURIFICATION TECHNOLOGY 2026   392(卷), null(期), (null页)

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Seawater desalination is a crucial approach to addressing global freshwater scarcity, especially in coastal and arid regions. Pervaporation (PV) offers high salt rejection and strong fouling resistance, but conventional PV membranes often suffer from limited permeate flow rates and temperature polarization. In this study, solar energy was integrated with PV by incorporating graphene oxide (GO) as a photothermal material to directly heat the membrane surface, thereby reducing energy consumption and enhancing permeation flux. The composite membrane comprises an electrospun polyacrylonitrile (PAN) support layer, a GO-based intermediate layer crosslinked with polyethyleneimine (PEI), and a sodium alginate (SA) selective top layer. The GO interlayer converts the solar energy into localized heat and enhances surface wettability, facilitating the development of a uniform and ultrathin SA separation layer, while concurrently enhancing the structural stability of the membrane. By optimizing GO loading and SA thickness, the membrane structure was tailored to increase permeate flux and maintain high salt rejection. The optimized SA(10)/PEI-GO(250)/PAN membrane delivered a stable water flux averaging 2.9-3.0 kg/m(2)h, while maintaining a salt removal efficiency above 99.9%. Extended operational trials validated the long-term reliability of the system. These findings highlight the feasibility of solar-driven PV (SPV) composites as a low-energy and eco-friendly approach to saline water treatment.