Biomimetic Prickly Nano Purifier with Silicified Assistor for the Treatment of Complex Wastewater

Abstract The effective treatment of complex wastewater systems containing emulsified oil‐water mixtures and high‐concentration organic dyes remains a critical challenge in environmental remediation. Although the photochemical Fenton reaction shows prospects in degrading refractory organic pollutants, its practical implementation is hindered by inefficient light absorption, rapid electron–hole recombination, and poor adaptability to multiphase pollutant systems. Here, inspired by polar bear fur, a nano purifier (nPF) with is developed an inner prickly Cu‐doped goethite core (skin), enabling efficient solar absorption and catalytic activation, while the outer mesoporous silica shell (hollow hair) provides exceptional thermal insulation and superhydrophilicity. The nPFs can feasibly anchor to biomass membranes and sponges, endowing ultrafast adsorption of high‐concentration dye wastewater (e.g., 40 mg L −1 methylene blue) with 82.4% removal efficiency within 2 s through interface engineering. Residual low‐concentration pollutants are subsequently degraded (97.4% total removal in 30 min) via solar photocatalysis‐Fenton cascade reactions, where the photothermal effect lowers the activation energy for ·OH/·O 2 ⁻ radical generation. For oil‐water emulsions, the nPF‐coated membrane achieved 99% separation efficiency (maximum flux ≈6141 L m − 2 h − ¹ bar −1 ) by synergizing size‐sieving effects and interfacial repulsion. This hierarchical “adsorption‐to‐degradation” mechanism, coupled with biomimetic thermal management, offers a rapid and energy‐efficient solution for treating complex wastewater.