Solar‐Powered Water Depollution Through a Bioinspired Device Based on ZIF‐8 Loaded Macroporous Hydrogels Prepared via Ice‐Templating
Abstract
Water pollution poses a constant threat to the environment and is one of the central causes for global shortage of clean water. Metal–Organic Frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as highly efficient adsorbents; however, their application is limited by their common production as fine powders, which hinders recovery and reuse. Here, we report a bioinspired strategy to overcome this limitation by embedding high loadings of ZIF‐8 microparticles (up to 90 wt%) within macroporous polysaccharide hydrogels prepared via ice‐templating and topotactic Ca²⁺ crosslinking. The resulting monoliths exhibit highly aligned microporous channels and homogeneously distributed ZIF‐8 particles whose crystallinity and microporosity are preserved. The polysaccharide/ZIF‐8 hydrogel showed superior adsorption for methylene blue (MB) and methyl orange (MO) compared to bare polysaccharide hydrogel, while being easier to recover and recycle than ZIF‐8 powder offering recyclability and structural integrity over multiple cycles. Under simulated solar irradiation, the hydrogels achieve up to 76% degradation of MB within 2 h. Finally, integration of a carbon‐based paper on top of the hydrogel, working as a highly efficient vapor generator, drives the water transport through the device, enabling the design of a solar‐powered depollution device that simultaneously purifies contaminated water and generates clean condensed water. This scalable, eco‐compatible approach opens new perspectives for multifunctional MOF–biopolymer architectures in sustainable water treatment technologies.
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BibTeX
@article{komiyama2026solarpowered,
title = {{Solar‐Powered Water Depollution Through a Bioinspired Device Based on ZIF‐8 Loaded Macroporous Hydrogels Prepared via Ice‐Templating}},
author = {Katsuya Komiyama and Jonathan Bachir and Francisco Fernandes and Clémence Sicard},
journal = {Small},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1002/smll.202600041},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05731719v2},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Solar‐Powered Water Depollution Through a Bioinspired Device Based on ZIF‐8 Loaded Macroporous Hydrogels Prepared via Ice‐Templating
AU - Katsuya Komiyama
AU - Jonathan Bachir
AU - Francisco Fernandes
AU - Clémence Sicard
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/29
JO - Small
DO - 10.1002/smll.202600041
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05731719v2
AB - Water pollution poses a constant threat to the environment and is one of the central causes for global shortage of clean water. Metal–Organic Frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as highly efficient adsorbents; however, their application is limited by their common production as fine powders, which hinders recovery and reuse. Here, we report a bioinspired strategy to overcome this limitation by embedding high loadings of ZIF‐8 microparticles (up to 90 wt%) within macroporous polysaccharide hydrogels prepared via ice‐templating and topotactic Ca²⁺ crosslinking. The resulting monoliths exhibit highly aligned microporous channels and homogeneously distributed ZIF‐8 particles whose crystallinity and microporosity are preserved. The polysaccharide/ZIF‐8 hydrogel showed superior adsorption for methylene blue (MB) and methyl orange (MO) compared to bare polysaccharide hydrogel, while being easier to recover and recycle than ZIF‐8 powder offering recyclability and structural integrity over multiple cycles. Under simulated solar irradiation, the hydrogels achieve up to 76% degradation of MB within 2 h. Finally, integration of a carbon‐based paper on top of the hydrogel, working as a highly efficient vapor generator, drives the water transport through the device, enabling the design of a solar‐powered depollution device that simultaneously purifies contaminated water and generates clean condensed water. This scalable, eco‐compatible approach opens new perspectives for multifunctional MOF–biopolymer architectures in sustainable water treatment technologies.
SN - 1613-6810
SN - 1613-6829
ER -