CoCr2O4 Nanoparticles with Abundant Oxygen Vacancies: A New Photothermal Platform for Efficient Solar Evaporation

Solar-driven interfacial photothermalevaporation hasbeen recognizedas a green, economical, and efficient water purification techniquein recent years, and it is one of the most promising methods to realizethe supply of high-quality freshwater resources. The key and challengeto achieving a superior water evaporation rate is to explore novelstable materials with high light absorption and photothermal conversionefficiency. In the present work, CoCr2O4 nanocrystalscontaining a large number of oxygen vacancies have been successfullyprepared. Due to their substantial localized surface plasmon resonanceeffect and excellent photothermal performance, they are applied inthe field of solar photothermal water evaporation for the first time.Thanks to their extremely high photothermal effect and excellent hydrophilicity,the outstanding water evaporation rate and efficiency of the obtainedCoCr(2)O(4) nanoparticles under standard sun irradiationare as high as 2.26 kg m(-2) h(-1) and 93.2%, respectively. This work provides an effective strategyfor the development of new solar-driven interfacial evaporation materials.