Water-Stable Al3Ni4 Polynuclear Heterometallic Compound for Near-Infrared Photothermal Conversion

In this paper, a polynuclear heterometallic compound (H₃O)[Al₃Ni₄(OH)₆(MBA-NO₂)₆(H₂O)₆] (Al₃Ni₄, H₂MBA-NO₂ = 2-hydroxy-3-methoxy-5-nitrobenzoic acid) with a seven-star disk metal core has been synthesized by the solvothermal method. Al₃Ni₄ has good stability in water and several organic solvents, and its solid powder shows a good photothermal effect under 980 nm laser irradiation, and the temperature can reach 138.8 °C within 100 s under 1.0 W cm^-2 power irradiation. Considering its good photothermal effect, water evaporation of Al₃Ni₄ was measured. It can be further used as a photothermal material in seawater evaporation.