Research progress of solar-driven hydrogels for treatment of unconventional water sources 光驱动水凝胶用于非常规水源处理的研究进展

In recent years, the shortage of freshwater resources has become increasingly serious, and the use of unconventional water sources as a supplement to freshwater resources has received widespread attention. Sea water and air water are very important components of unconventional water sources. In the past decade, hydrogels have gradually been applied to technologies for treating these water sources, such as photothermal distillation, forward osmosis, and water enrichment. Due to the unique interaction between hydrogels and water, hydrogels have great advantages in terms of water absorption and dehydration performance compared with previously studied water treatment materials. In addition, it can realize the operation of the water treatment process under natural light conditions, thereby making the water treatment process more low-carbon and environmentally friendly. This article first introduces the development history of seawater and air water treatment methods, and then respectively introduces the research progress of hydrogels in seawater and air water treatment in recent years, from the aspects of evaluation indicators, treatment principles, influencing factors, purification capabilities, etc. Summarize various treatment processes, and finally put forward the research prospects of light-driven hydrogels for unconventional water source treatment methods.