NiSe and CoSe Topological Nodal‐Line Semimetals: A Sustainable Platform for Efficient Thermoplasmonics and Solar‐Driven Photothermal Membrane Distillation

Abstract

The control of heat at the nanoscale via the excitation of localized surface plasmons in nanoparticles (NPs) irradiated with light holds great potential in several fields (cancer therapy, catalysis, desalination). To date, most thermoplasmonic applications are based on Ag and Au NPs, whose cost of raw materials inevitably limits the scalability for industrial applications requiring large amounts of photothermal NPs, as in the case of desalination plants. On the other hand, alternative nanomaterials proposed so far exhibit severe restrictions associated with the insufficient photothermal efficacy in the visible, the poor chemical stability, and the challenging scalability. Here, it is demonstrated the outstanding potential of NiSe and CoSe topological nodal‐line semimetals for thermoplasmonics. The anisotropic dielectric properties of NiSe and CoSe activate additional plasmonic resonances. Specifically, NiSe and CoSe NPs support multiple localized surface plasmons in the optical range, resulting in a broadband matching with sunlight radiation spectrum. Finally, it is validated the proposed NiSe and CoSe‐based thermoplasmonic platform by implementing solar‐driven membrane distillation by adopting NiSe and CoSe nanofillers embedded in a polymeric membrane for seawater desalination. Remarkably, replacing Ag with NiSe and CoSe for solar membrane distillation increases the transmembrane flux by 330% and 690%, respectively. Correspondingly, costs of raw materials are also reduced by 24 and 11 times, respectively. The results pave the way for the advent of NiSe and CoSe for efficient and sustainable thermoplasmonics and related applications exploiting sunlight within the paradigm of the circular blue economy.

Extreme Optical Anisotropy in the Type-II Dirac Semimetal NiTe2 for Applications to Nanophotonics

“…Of particular interest for future studies will be NiTe 2 -based refractive index sensors, 2 perfect absorbers 36 for bio/chemical sensing, photodetection, solar energy harvesting, and even photothermal membrane distillation. 41 ■ ASSOCIATED CONTENT * sı Supporting Information…”

“…These results provide the groundwork for an efficient harnessing of topological semimetals in nanophotonic applications. Of particular interest for future studies will be NiTe 2 -based refractive index sensors, perfect absorbers for bio/chemical sensing, photodetection, solar energy harvesting, and even photothermal membrane distillation …”

Nickel Chalcogenide Nanoparticles-Assisted Photothermal Solar Driven Membrane Distillation (PSDMD)

“…However, the implantation of NPs into the polymeric membrane not only increases its temperature and vapor flux but also increases its pore size and contact angle (>110°). As a result, the membrane exhibited much higher resistance to wetting [ 16 , 40 ]. In this regard, the wetting effect will be neglected and only the effects of implanted NPs and porosity on the membrane efficiency will be discussed.…”

“…Transition metal chalcogenide (TMCs) NPs have been proposed for use in photothermal therapy (PTT) treatments for cancer [ 37 , 38 ] and antibacterial membranes [ 39 ]. More recently, S. Abramovich et al [ 40 ] have shown that embedding NiSe and CoSe nanofillers into the polymeric membrane increases the transmembrane flux by 330% and 690%, respectively. These materials have strong photo absorption characteristics in a wide range of wavelengths and have shown to be less toxic than graphene, suggesting they might have a wide range of water treatment and biomedical applications.…”

“…An efficient photothermal candidate must exhibit a metal-like character and show like localized plasmonic resonances absorption in particular spectral regions. Depending on their composite elements, TMCs can exist as semiconductors, semi-metals, or topological insulators [ 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 ]. TMC semi-conductors show metal-like absorption but typically operate in the deep UV.…”