Rapid Solar Heating of Antimicrobial Ag and Cu₂O Nanostructured Plasmonic Textile for Clean Water Production

Solar steam generation is an attractive method to produce clean water, and high steam generation rates have been achieved using nanostructured light absorbers. However, since it usually takes minutes to reach the temperature for steady-state steam generation under solar illumination, a material that responds quickly to intermittent sunlight is strongly desired. Here, we report an unprecedented heating rate in an ultralight freestanding textile consisting of interconnected Ag and Cu₂O nanoparticles. The textile demonstrated high solar absorption with low reflectance and transmittance, which were rationalized using our multiphysics simulations. A commercial polystyrene foam wrapped with this broadband light-absorbing textile showed the fastest response to sunlight together with a good steam generation rate compared to reported inorganic nanostructured steam generators. Furthermore, the textile exhibited antibacterial property, which might lower the risk of the vapor-induced transfer of bacteria during long-term intermittent use and the cost of subsequent water sanitization.