Synergistic ZnO Nanoflowers Anchored Carbonized Palm Fiber for Advanced Photothermal Water Desalination and Purification

Recently, solar steam generation (SSG) has emerged as a promising and sustainable technology for addressing global water scarcity by efficiently converting solar energy to produce clean water. Carbonaceous materials, primarily sourced from biomass-based, have attracted significant attention due to their sustainable use of natural resources. However, biomass-based materials are easily mildewed during prolonged immersion and the carbonization process can significantly alter the natural hydrophilic properties of biomass. Herein, a novel approach that utilizes the integration of zinc oxide (ZnO) on carbonized oil palm fiber (ZnO-CF) is developed in this study to investigate their combined synergistic effect. Through a cost-effective hydrothermal route, a composite photothermal material with efficient light absorption and water transport properties is successfully synthesized. Benefiting from the synergistic effect of ZnO with CF, the evaporation rate and efficiency of ZnO-CF are reported to be 1.739 kg m-2h- 1 and 98.96 %, respectively, under 1 sun illumination. Additionally, ZnO-CF demonstrated excellent desalination and bactericidal properties in treating lake water and seawater, with the additional feature of merit in sustaining self-cleaning ability for crystalline salt due to its surface wettability in the absence of light. These versatile properties make ZnO-CF a favorable solution for biomass waste upcycling from the oil palm industry, thus contributing to sustainable water desalination technologies.