Research progress on water purification composites with special wettability and photothermal effect

Currently, the pollution of global water resources and the scarcity of fresh water are increasingly severe. The pressing need for research on purifying and reusing unconventional water resources such as seawater, brackish water, industrial wastewater, and domestic sewage necessitates an effective, environmentally friendly, and low-carbon solution strategy that harnesses the synergistic effect of specialized wetting materials and photothermal conversion. This paper begins by summarizing the research status of conventional water purification materials while highlighting their advantages, disadvantages, and challenges in current technology. Subsequently, it systematically discusses the action mechanism and research progress of individual specialized wetting materials and photothermal conversion materials in the field of water purification. Furthermore, it thoroughly analyzes the synergistic mechanism and working principle between specialized wetting effects and photothermal effects at an application level in water purification. The analysis includes examining their advantages in solar energy utilization, benefits to water purification processes, sustainability performance aspects as well as application scenarios. Additionally summarized is an analysis of the current application status of super-wetted photothermal composites within the field of water purification. Finally, this paper expounds upon existing limitations while prospecting future prospects for super-wetted photothermal composites within the realm of water purification.