Facile preparation of multifunctional Cu_2−xS/S/rGO composite for all-round residual water remediation during interfacial solar driven water evaporation process

Presently, interfacial solar water evaporation (ISWE) is now injecting new vitality into the field of water remediation. However, during the ISWE process, the nonvolatile pollutants might be concentrated in residual water, and further contaminate the environment. Preparing advanced photothermal materials is in need to get comprehensive purification of various pollutants in residual water. Herein, we report a facile laser thermal method to prepare Cu_2−xS/sulfur/reduced graphene oxide (Cu_2−xS/S/rGO) nanocomposites for realizing all-round residual water remediation during the ISWE process. The as-prepared Cu_2−xS/S/rGO nanocomposites demonstrated excellent photothermal and photocatalytic properties. Through blending with GO nanosheets having excellent adsorption capacity, the synergetic effect of photothermal, photocatalytic, and adsorption properties resulted in highly efficient purification of rhodamine B, bacterial, and heavy metal ions in residual water during the ISWE process. The experimental results also showed that, increasing solar light intensity can promote the residual water remediation, but ultrafast water evaporation under high light intensity may deteriorate the purifying effect. This report may pave a new way to prepare multifunctional materials for water remediation through the ISWE technology.