Solar-Driven Photothermal-Evaporation Coupling: Antibacterial-Evaporation Integrated Wood-Based Photothermal Materials for Seawater Desalination

Solar-Driven Photothermal-Evaporation Coupling: Antibacterial-Evaporation Integrated Wood-Based Photothermal Materials for Seawater Desalination | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Solar-Driven Photothermal-Evaporation Coupling: Antibacterial-Evaporation Integrated Wood-Based Photothermal Materials for Seawater Desalination Hongyan Zhu, Qihui Jiao, Jin Zhang, Shijie Li, Yu Wu, Xiangyu Yang, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9103428/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Tackling the challenges of global freshwater scarcity and energy consumption, efficient solar powered seawater desalination strategies are needed. However, current interface evaporation technology is limited by insufficient photothermal conversion efficiency, unclear energy loss mechanisms, and high material costs. In this work, we report a highly efficient and stable wood-based photothermal composite material, which is constructed by in-situ growth of manganese dioxide (MnO 2 ) nanoflowers on porous, low thermal conductivity poplar wood, combined with a blacking coating of iron tannic acid to construct manganese/ wood@Fe-GA photothermal evaporation system. The three dimensional MnO 2 structure enhances light harvesting while providing abundant active sites to stabilize Fe 3+ , synergizing with the wood's vertically aligned channels and low thermal conductivity to facilitate water transport and suppress heat loss. The composite achieves a high evaporation rate of 2.25 kg·m − 2 ·h − 1 under one-sun illumination and maintains a stable performance of 1.84–1.97 kg·m − 2 ·h − 1 in 15% NaCl solution over extended operation. We demonstrate that the formed Mn-O bonds regulate the local chemical environment to inhibit salt crystallization, thereby ensuring long-term stability in seawater desalination. By elucidating the relationship between structural performance and evaporation mechanism, this work provides theoretical insights and practical approaches for sustainable, high-performance, and low-cost desalination of photothermal materials. Seawater desalination Solar energy Wood-based composite Photothermal conversion Antibacterial properties Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 05 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 27 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 27 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 24 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 15 Apr, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 08 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 08 Apr, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 13 Mar, 2026 First submitted to journal 12 Mar, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9103428","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":623781781,"identity":"b36820f3-094b-4484-a278-e4c717c0ef17","order_by":0,"name":"Hongyan Zhu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Shanxi Datong University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Hongyan","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhu","suffix":""},{"id":623781782,"identity":"74f2af27-d5dc-4d20-8ac0-2af88342186d","order_by":1,"name":"Qihui Jiao","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Shanxi Datong 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However, current interface evaporation technology is limited by insufficient photothermal conversion efficiency, unclear energy loss mechanisms, and high material costs. In this work, we report a highly efficient and stable wood-based photothermal composite material, which is constructed by in-situ growth of manganese dioxide (MnO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e) nanoflowers on porous, low thermal conductivity poplar wood, combined with a blacking coating of iron tannic acid to construct manganese/ wood@Fe-GA photothermal evaporation system. The three dimensional MnO\u003csub\u003e2\u003c/sub\u003e structure enhances light harvesting while providing abundant active sites to stabilize Fe\u003csup\u003e3+\u003c/sup\u003e, synergizing with the wood's vertically aligned channels and low thermal conductivity to facilitate water transport and suppress heat loss. The composite achieves a high evaporation rate of 2.25 kg\u0026middot;m\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;2\u003c/sup\u003e\u0026middot;h\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e under one-sun illumination and maintains a stable performance of 1.84\u0026ndash;1.97 kg\u0026middot;m\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;2\u003c/sup\u003e\u0026middot;h\u003csup\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;1\u003c/sup\u003e in 15% NaCl solution over extended operation. We demonstrate that the formed Mn-O bonds regulate the local chemical environment to inhibit salt crystallization, thereby ensuring long-term stability in seawater desalination. 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