Construction of PVA hydrogel-based solar-driven interfacial distillation device and its performance research in selective adsorption of organic solvents and removal of Rh B

[Display omitted] •The device shows a steam generation rate of 1.73 kg·m−2·h−1 under 1 sun illumination.•Rh B and cyclohexane remaining can be removed after steam generation.•The non-wetting fabric has stability and universality in oil/water separation.•The device has the performance of salt-resistance. Freshwater has become a rare resource on account of population increase and environmental pollution. At present, most the solar-driven interfacial evaporators used for water polluted by organic solvents and dyes have an outstanding nature of clean water production due to their special design. However, its downside is that contaminants remaining in the residual polluted water cannot be removed. Herein, a device applied to water polluted by organic solvents and dyes is formed by a hydrogel-based interfacial evaporator (PVA hydrogel/CNTs) and non-wetting fabric. The photodegradation efficiency of the non-wetting fabric is 95.7% for Rh B dye after five cycles. Meanwhile, the organic solvents including toluene, cyclohexane and so on are cleared through the non-wetting fabric. Importantly, the device presents a clean water production rate of 1.73 kg·m−2·h−1 under 1 sun illumination and it has a freshwater produce rate of 1.63 kg·m−2·h−1 after 6 h of desalination experiments. Furthermore, the device displays the performance of salt resistance in a 3 h NaCl dissolution experiment. A new strategy is provided for interfacial water evaporation technology used for water dyed by organic solvents and dyes purification and has a great application potential.