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This paper reports the preparation of poly(sodium acrylate) (PSA) cryogels decorated with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) for point-of-use (POU) water disinfection. The PSA/Ag cryogels combine the high porosity, excellent mechanical and water absorption properties of cryogels, and uniform dispersion of fine AgNPs on the cryogel pore surface for rapid disinfection with minimal Ag release (<100 μg L(-1)). They were used in a process that employed their ability to absorb water, which subsequently could be released via application of mild pressure. Their antibacterial performance was evaluated based on the disinfection efficacies of E. coli and B. subtilis . The PSA/Ag cryogels had excellent disinfection efficacies showing close to a 3 log reduction of viable bacteria after a brief 15 s contact time. They were highly reusable as there was no significant difference in the disinfection efficacies over five cycles of operation. The biocidal action of the PSA/Ag cryogels is believed to be dominated by surface-controlled mechanisms that are dependent on direct contact of the interface of PSA/Ag cryogels with the bacterial cells. The PSA/Ag cryogels are thought to offer a simpler approach for drinking water disinfection in disaster relief applications.

Hydrogels are capable of absorbing water several times their dry mass that subsequently can be released by the application of pressure, temperature change, or other external stimuli. As such, they offer promise for providing potable water in disaster relief applications. However, the swelling and mechanical properties of hydrogels need to be improved. The objectives of this study were (i) to demonstrate that the properties of poly(sodium acrylate) (PSA) cryogels can be tuned by modulating synthesis conditions such as freezing temperature, initial monomer and initiator concentrations, and crosslinker ratio, and (ii) to investigate the potential of PSA cryogels as an integral membrane for water purification in emergencies. PSA cryogels with a superfast swelling rate and a high degree of swelling that can withstand large compression strains were synthesized by conducting copolymerization reactions between N,N 0methylenebis(acrylamide) and sodium acrylate under subzero temperature conditions. The pore morphology was characterized using confocal laser scanning microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. It was shown that a lower freezing temperature and reduced initial monomer concentrations formed PSA cryogels with smaller more interconnected pores, while a higher initiator concentration in the "freezing before gelation" mode resulted in smaller pores. PSA cryogels with open interconnected pores had both a higher rate and degree of swelling, and high elasticity in response to compression. The separation efficiency of PSA cryogels was evaluated by determining turbidity removal over five operational cycles. The turbidity removal efficiency of the PSA cryogel having the highest swelling degree increased to 90% towards the fifth cycle. The water recovery during the five operational cycles ranged from 71 to 77% under a vacuum suction of 70 kPa (absolute pressure) for one minute. PSA cryogels having smaller average pore sizes were found to have higher turbidity removal efficiencies.

The authors have recently reported the fabrication of superabsorbent cryogels decorated with silver nanoparticles (PSA/AgNP cryogels) that demonstrate rapid water disinfection. This paper provides a systematic elucidation of the bactericidal mechanisms of AgNPs (silver nanoparticles), both generally and in the specific context of cryogels. Direct contact between the PSA/AgNP cryogel interface and the bacterial cells is required to accomplish disinfection. Specifically, the disinfection efficacy is closely correlated to the cell-bound Ag concentration, which constitutes >90% of the Ag released. Cells exposed to PSA/AgNP cryogels show a significant depletion of intracellular adenosine triphosphate (ATP) content and cell-membrane lesions. A positive ROS (reactive oxygen species) scavenging test confirms the involvement of ROS (·O2(-), H2O2, and ·OH) in the bactericidal mechanism. Furthermore, exposed bacterial cells show an enhanced level of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, indicating the occurrence of cell-membrane peroxidation mediated by ROS. In addition, this study reveals that both Ag(+) and Ag(0) are involved in the bactericidal mechanism of AgNPs via tests conducted using PSA cryogels with bound Ag(+) ions (or PSA/Ag(+) cryogels without reducing Ag(+) to Ag(0)). Significantly, bacterial cells exposed to PSA/Ag(+) cryogels did not show any cell-membrane damage even though the former had a higher cell-bound Ag concentration than that of the PSA/AgNP cryogels, thus indicating the differential action of Ag(+) and Ag(0).

The accelerated increase in freshwater demand, particularly among populations displaced in remote locations where conventional water sources and the infrastructure required to produce potable water may be completely absent, highlights the urgent need in creating additional freshwater supply from untapped alternative sources via energy-efficient solutions. Herein, we present a hydrophilic and self-floating photothermal foam that can generate potable water from seawater and atmospheric moisture via solar-driven evaporation at its interface. Specifically, the foam shows an excellent solar-evaporation rate of 1.89 kg m –2 h –1 with a solar-to-vapor conversion efficiency of 92.7% under 1-Sun illumination. The collected water is shown to be suitable for potable use because when synthetic seawater samples (3.5 wt %) are used, the foam is able to cause at least 99.99% of salinity reduction. The foam can also be repeatedly used in multiple hydration–dehydration cycles, consisting of moisture absorption or water collection, followed by solar-driven evaporation; in each cycle, 1 g of the foam can harvest 250–1770 mg of water. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a material that integrates all the desirable properties for solar evaporation, water collection, and atmospheric-water harvesting. The lightweight and versatility of the foam suggest that the developed foams can be a potent solution for water efficiency, especially for off-grid situations.

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anthropogenic activities that have led to saline intrusion and contamination of the existing freshwater sources, making the current approaches for water treatment even more difficult and costly. [2][3][4] This, in combination with the continuously rising global water demand, results in a rather pessimistic prediction that an additional 2000 billion m 3 of freshwater supply will be required by 2030 to meet the global demand, assuming no gains on the current state of water-production capacity and efficiency. [5,6] As the existing freshwater sources are being depleted, there is a growing need for utilization of a broader range of water sources beyond the conventional ones, that is, brackish water, seawater, wastewater, and atmospheric moisture. [7] On top of that, there is a call for a greater focus on enhancing water security, particularly for the poor and vulnerable populations, as water scarcity is more critical in these geographical regions due to the lack of access to conventional infrastructure and power sources to produce clean water. [1,8,9] This, in addition to the increasing intensity and frequency of climate-related disasters, present unique demands, such as simple and off-grid operations, for water technologies (WTs) that can be deployed to manage the constraints imposed by these circumstances. [10]