Single-atom-enhanced membrane for simultaneous bacteria and heavy metal on-site water treatment

Summary

Access to clean water remains a major global challenge, especially in remote and disaster-affected areas, where centralized water treatment is often unavailable. This study introduces a single-atom engineering approach to designing a filtration system capable of simultaneously purifying water from bacteria and heavy metals on site, thus providing a sustainable and user-friendly method for water purification. The system demonstrates exceptional efficiency in removing bacterial and heavy metal contaminants from various water sources. Our findings show remarkable filtration efficiency (>99.999%) against a broad spectrum of microorganisms in distilled, tap, and river water. Moreover, the membrane demonstrates a high adsorption capacity for heavy metals, specifically 661 and 248 mg g⁻¹ for Pb²⁺ and Cd²⁺, respectively. The simple operation and high membrane permeability, requiring only a hand-powered vacuum, ensure applicability in off-grid settings. In addition, the membrane material maintains more than 90% efficiency after 20 regeneration cycles, addressing both cost and sustainability issues.