Solar steam technology is one of the simplest, most direct and effective ways to harness solar energy through water evaporation. Here, we report the development using super-hydrophilic copper sulfide (CuS) films with double-layer structures as light absorbers for solar steam generation. In the double-layer structure system, a porous mixed cellulose ester (MCE) membrane is used as a supporting layer, which enables water to get into the CuS light absorbers through a capillary action to provide continuous water during solar steam generation. The superhydrophilic property of the double-layer system (CuS/MCE) leads to a thinner water film close to the air-water interface where the surface temperature is sufficiently high, leading to more efficient evaporation (∼80±2.5%) under one sun illumination. Furthermore, the evaporation efficiencies still keep a steady value after 15 cycles of testing. The super-hydrophilic CuS film is promising for practical application in water purification and evaporation as a light absorption material.
In this study, a facile and effective route for the preparation of silver nanoparticles supported surface mesoporous silica microspheres with perpendicularly aligned mesopore channels and their antibacterial activities were reported. The surface mesoporous silica microspheres (mSiO 2 ) were synthesized by a sol-gel method. The mSiO 2 were then functionalized with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTS) to provide amino functional groups for the absorption of Ag + . Silver nanoparticles were directly created on the surface of mSiO 2 by in situ chemical reduction of the Ag precursor using an ultrasonic wave reaction method. The prepared silver nanoparticle supported surface mesoporous silica nanocomposites (mSiO 2 @NH 2 @Ag) were characterized with FT-IR, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. Antibacterial activities of the synthesized mSiO 2 @NH 2 @Ag were investigated against Gram-negative Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Gram-positive Staphylococcus aureus (SAU) using the conventional plate-count method.The results demonstrated that the synthesized nanocomposites exhibited excellent antibacterial properties against E. coli and SAU. Furthermore, because of the slow release property of silver, the synthesized nanocomposites can be used as an economic recyclable material in various antibacterial applications, such as water purification systems and environmental control of bacteria.
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