Preparation of ZnIn2S4/MoS2–SA Photocatalyst Gel for Wastewater Treatment: Photocatalytic Performance and Solar Interfacial Evaporation

With the rapid advancement of industrialization, wastewater pollution has become an increasingly severe environmental issue. The integration of photocatalysis with solar interfacial evaporation technology, which leverages the abundant and clean energy of solar power, has drawn growing attention as effective solutions to this problem. In this study, MoS₂ nanosheets with low-dimensional and controllable morphology were successfully grown on layered ZnIn₂S₄ using a simple template method, resulting in a novel nanoflower heterojunction photocatalyst. This photocatalyst was then combined with sodium alginate, and aerogels were fabricated through directional freezing technology. The ZnIn₂S₄/MoS₂ photocatalytic aerogel demonstrated excellent photocatalytic performance under visible light, efficiently degrading various pollutants such as rhodamine B(RhB)(30 min, 99%), methyl orange(MO)(30 min, 99%), tetracycline(TC)(1h, 88%), and other antibiotics and dyes. Notably, the degradation efficiency for tetracycline remained at 88% even after five cycles of use, highlighting the aerogel's strong reusability and stability across different pollutants. Additionally, the current aerogel composite exhibits an evaporation rate of up to 1.984 kg m^-2 h^-1 and a photothermal conversion efficiency of 95.5%. These results demonstrate that the ZnIn₂S₄/MoS₂ photocatalytic aerogel is a promising candidate for sustainable water treatment, with broad applicability and stable photocatalytic degradation efficiency and interfacial evaporation efficiency under different polluted environments.