Engineering Hydrogel-based Self-floating Catalytic Materials for Interfacial Solar-driven Chemistry

Jia-Xin Gao; Wen-Wei Lei

doi:10.1007/s10118-026-3578-9

Your Location：

Home >

Browse articles >

Engineering Hydrogel-based Self-floating Catalytic Materials for Interfacial Solar-driven Chemistry

Special Topic: Functional Gels | Updated：2026-05-30

- Engineering Hydrogel-based Self-floating Catalytic Materials for Interfacial Solar-driven Chemistry
- Chinese Journal of Polymer Science Vol. 44, Issue 6, Pages: 1695-1715(2026)
- Affiliations：
  
  School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Metastable Materials Science and Technology, Hebei Key Laboratory of Nanobiotechnology, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao 066004, China
- Author bio：
  
  leiww@ysu.edu.cn
- Funds：
- DOI：10.1007/s10118-026-3578-9
  CLC：
- Received：29 December 2025，
  
  Accepted：14 January 2026，
  
  Online First：12 May 2026，
  
  Published：05 June 2026
- Accepted：
Scan QR Code
Gao, J. X.; Lei, W. W. Engineering hydrogel-based self-floating catalytic materials for interfacial solar-driven chemistry. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2026, 44, 1695–1715

Jia-Xin Gao, Wen-Wei Lei. Engineering Hydrogel-based Self-floating Catalytic Materials for Interfacial Solar-driven Chemistry[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 44(6): 1695-1715.
Gao, J. X.; Lei, W. W. Engineering hydrogel-based self-floating catalytic materials for interfacial solar-driven chemistry. Chinese J. Polym. Sci. 2026, 44, 1695–1715 DOI： 10.1007/s10118-026-3578-9.

Jia-Xin Gao, Wen-Wei Lei. Engineering Hydrogel-based Self-floating Catalytic Materials for Interfacial Solar-driven Chemistry[J]. Chinese Journal of Polymer Science, 2026, 44(6): 1695-1715. DOI： 10.1007/s10118-026-3578-9.

摘要

This review highlights hydrogel-based self-floating catalysts as innovative interfacial platforms for solar-driven chemistry. By establishing stable three-phase interfaces

these materials overcome traditional mass-transfer limitations and catalyst agglomeration. We analyze core construction strategies and demonstrate their versatile applications in pollutant degradation

hydrogen production

and desalination.

Abstract

Hydrogel-based self-floating catalytic materials have become a key interfacial platform in the field of solar-driven chemistry

effectively solving the difficulties of traditional powder catalysts in the aqueous phase

such as easy agglomeration

sedimentation

and limited mass transfer. In this study

the design strategy

structural properties

and interfacial advantages of these materials were systematically described

and the mechanisms of precursor mixing

in situ

synthesis

and post-modification in regulating the distribution of active sites

gel structure formation

and multifunctional integration were analyzed. Through the construction of stable three-phase interfaces

the materials form a reaction microenvironment with a generalized enhancement effect. The structural design significantly improves the light trapping efficiency and carrier separation performance in photocatalytic processes and simultaneously strengthens the mass transfer process and local reactant concentration in peroxide activation reactions

establishing a synergistic system in which the adsorption

enrichment

and catalytic processes are tightly coupled. Successful applications in the fields of organic pollutant degradation

solar-driven chemical synthesis

and interfacial evaporation have demonstrated the wide applicability of this technology. By systematically combining the research progress in this field

this study aims to provide a theoretical basis for the development of efficient and stable interfacial catalytic platforms and promote the development of sustainable environmental remediation and energy conversion technologies.

关键词

Keywords

references

Sun, X. D.; Jiang, S. Y.; Huang, H. W.; Li, H.; Jia, B. H.; Ma, T. Y. Solar energy catalysis. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2022 , 61 , e202204880..

He, J.; Janáky, C. Recent advances in solar-driven carbon dioxide conversion: Expectations versus reality. ACS Energy Lett. 2020 , 5 , 1996−2014..

Huang, Y. Y.; Shen, M. H.; Yan, H. J.; He, Y. G.; Xu, J. Q.; Zhu, F.; Yang, X.; Ye, Y. X.; Ouyang, G. F. Achieving a solar-to-chemical efficiency of 3.6% in ambient conditions by inhibiting interlayer charges transport. Nat. Commun. 2024 , 15 , 5406..

Mao, K.; Zhang, Y. X.; Tan, S. C. Functionalizing solar-driven steam generation towards water and energy sustainability. Nat. Water 2025 , 3 , 144−156..

Wang, A. W.; Du, M.; Ni, J. X.; Liu, D. Q.; Pan, Y. H.; Liang, X. Y.; Liu, D. M.; Ma, J.; Wang, J.; Wang, W. Enhanced and synergistic catalytic activation by photoexcitation driven S-scheme heterojunction hydrogel interface electric field. Nat. Commun. 2023 , 14 , 6733..

Lei, W. W.; Suzuki, N.; Terashima, C.; Fujishima, A. Hydrogel photocatalysts for efficient energy conversion and environmental treatment. Front. Energy 2021 , 15 , 577−595..

Kumar, N.; Gusain, R.; Pandey, S.; Ray, S. S. Hydrogel nanocomposite adsorbents and photocatalysts for sustainable water purification. Adv. Mater. Interfaces 2023 , 10 , 2201375..

Esen, C.; Kumru, B. Photocatalyst-incorporated cross-linked porous polymer networks. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2022 , 61 , 10616−10630..

Li, Q. Q.; Zhao, C. Z.; Jia, S. S.; Chen, Q.; Li, X. S.; She, M. Y.; Liu, H.; Liu, P.; Wang, Y. Y.; Li, J. L. Design and fabrication of CuⅠ/CuⅡ-MOF-incorporated hydrogel photocatalysts for synergy removal of Cr(IV) and congo red. Chin. Chem. Lett. 2025 , 36 , 109936..

Su, J. Q.; Wang, P. J.; Zhou, W.; Peydayesh, M.; Zhou, J. T.; Jin, T. H.; Donat, F.; Jin, C. Y.; Xia, L.; Wang, K. W.; Ren, F. Z.; Van der Meeren, P.; de Arquer, F. P. G.; Mezzenga, R. Single-site iron-anchored amyloid hydrogels as catalytic platforms for alcohol detoxification. Nat. Nanotechnol. 2024 , 19 , 1168−1177..

Zhou, H.; Sheng, X.; Xiao, J.; Ding, Z. Y.; Wang, D. D.; Zhang, X. Q.; Liu, J.; Wu, R. F.; Feng, X. J.; Jiang, L. Increasing the efficiency of photocatalytic reactions via surface microenvironment engineering. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2020 , 142 , 2738−2743..

Huang, H. N.; Shi, R.; Zhang, X. R.; Zhao, J. Q.; Su, C. L.; Zhang, T. R. Photothermal-assisted triphase photocatalysis over a multifunctional bilayer paper. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2021 , 60 , 22963−22969..

Fu, J. C.; Xiao, S. Z.; Cao, J. Z.; Liang, Z. Y.; Chen, J. B.; Jiang, Y.; Xing, M. Y. Mass transfer-enhanced photothermal membranes with synergistic light utilization for high-turbidity wastewater purification. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2025 , 64 , e202421800..

Ju, Y. J.; Li, H.; Wang, Z.; Liu, H. W.; Huo, S. H.; Jiang, S.; Duan, S. C.; Yao, Y. G.; Lu, X. Q.; Chen, F. J. Solar-driven on-site H 2 O 2 generation and tandem photo-Fenton reaction on a triphase interface for rapid organic pollutant degradation. Chem. Eng. J. 2022 , 430 , 133168..

Jiang, M. P.; Li, J. J.; Wan, X. Y.; Qiu, J. H.; Yao, T. T.; Zhang, W. Y.; Ma, S. Y.; Tan, H.; Han, A.; Chen, C. L.; Liu, G. Floatable organic-inorganic hybrid-TiO 2 unlocks superoxide radicals for plastic photoreforming in neutral solution. Nat. Commun. 2025 , 16 , 4136..

Wu, T.; Liang, Q. H.; Tang, L.; Tang, J. L.; Wang, J. J.; Shao, B. B.; Gong, S. X.; He, Q. Y.; Pan, Y.; Liu, Z. F. Construction of a novel S-scheme heterojunction piezoelectric photocatalyst S-BiOIO 3 /FTCN and immobilization with floatability for tetracycline degradation. J. Hazard. Mater. 2023 , 443 , 130251..

He, B. W.; Wang, Z. L.; Xiao, P.; Chen, T.; Yu, J. G.; Zhang, L. Y. Cooperative coupling of H 2 O 2 production and organic synthesis over a floatable polystyrene-sphere-supported TiO 2 /Bi 2 O 3 S-scheme photocatalyst. Adv. Mater. 2022 , 34 , 2203225..

Liu, X. Y.; Pan, J. A.; Huang, H.; Sun, N.; Gu, C.; Zhuang, Y. L.; Wang, L. L. Floating solar materials and their devices for energy conversion and environment remediation. Adv. Sustain. Syst. 2024 , 8 , 2400118..

Guo, Y. X.; Dong, Y. M.; Liu, B.; Ni, B. Q.; Pan, C. S.; Zhang, J. W.; Zhao, H.; Wang, G. L.; Zhu, Y. F. Effective H 2 O 2 photosynthesis in gas-liquid-solid triphase system with self-floating conjugated organic polymers. Adv. Funct. Mater. 2024 , 34 , 2402920..

Wang, J.; Zhang, J. H.; Li, Y.; Xia, X. H.; Yang, H. J.; Kim, J. H.; Zhang, W. Silver single atoms and nanoparticles on floatable monolithic photocatalysts for synergistic solar water disinfection. Nat. Commun. 2025 , 16 , 981..

[Sahoo, L.; Mondal, S.; Beena, N. C.; Gloskovskii, A.; Manju, U.; Topwa l, D.; Gautam, U. K. 3D porous polymeric-foam-supported Pd nanocrystal as a highly efficient and recyclable catalyst for organic transformations. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2021 , 13 , 10120−10130..

Zha, Q. D.; Yin, Z. Z.; Yang, G. Y.; Wang, R. R.; Xie, Y.; Chen, Y. H.; Hong, Z.; Luo, Y. D.; Xue, M. S. Unique biomimetic self-floating 3D janus 'integrated system' for efficient interfacial solar steam generation and wastewater treatment. Sep. Purif. Technol. 2025 , 372 , 133439..

[Zhang, Z.; Zhang, L.; Huang, Z. H.; Xu, Y. X.; Zhao, Q. Q.; Wang, H. J.; Shi, M. Q.; Li, X. N.; Jiang, K.; Wu, D. P. "Floating catalytic foam" with prominent heat-induced convection for the effective photocatalytic removal of antibiotics. J. Hazard. Mater . 2024 , 463 , 132879..

Wang, J. M.; Jiang, J. Z.; Li, F. Y.; Zou, J.; Xiang, K.; Wang, H. T.; Li, Y. J.; Li, X. Emerging carbon-based quantum dots for sustainable photocatalysis. Green Chem. 2023 , 25 , 32−58..

Hu, Z. F.; Shen, Z. R.; Yu, J. C. Converting carbohydrates to carbon-based photocatalysts for environmental treatment. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2017 , 51 , 7076−7083. .

He, Y. M.; Li, H. Y.; Guo, X. L.; Zheng, R. B. Bleached wood supports for floatable, recyclable, and efficient three dimensional photocatalyst. Catalysts 2019 , 9 , 115..

Li, W.; Chen, Z. J.; Yu, H. P.; Li, J.; Liu, S. X. Wood-derived carbon materials and light-emitting materials. Adv. Mater. 2021 , 33 , 2000596..

An, N.; Zhang, X.; Chen, Y.; Wang, Z. N.; Qiu, J. S.; Gao, B. Y.; Li, Q. A self-floating photothermal/photocatalytic evaporator for simultaneous high-efficiency evaporation and purification of volatile organic wastewater. Adv. Funct. Mater. 2025 , 35 , 2500777..

Chi, W. W.; Dong, Y. M.; Liu, B.; Pan, C. S.; Zhang, J. W.; Zhao, H.; Zhu, Y. F.; Liu, Z. Y. A photocatalytic redox cycle over a polyimide catalyst drives efficient solar-to-H 2 O 2 conversion. Nat. Commun. 2024 , 15 , 5316..

Yang, J. M.; Lu, J. L.; Han, D. X.; Zhou, B.; Du, A. Direct ink writing of aerogels: Fundamentals, strategies, applications, and perspectives. Prog. Mater. Sci. 2025 , 152 , 101462..

Xing, C. Y.; Li, Z. H.; Wang, Z.; Zhang, S. H.; Xie, Z. J.; Zhu, X.; Peng, Z. C. Chemical scissors tailored nano-tellurium with high-entropy morphology for efficient foam-hydrogel-based solar photothermal evaporators. Nano-Micro Lett. 2024 , 16 , 47..

Hou, L. H.; Xing, Z. Z.; Luo, S. J.; Li, T. L.; Wang, H. T. Self-regulating hydrogel spheres for salt-resistant solar desalination. Desalination 2025 , 615 , 119255..

Wang, Y. M.; Fang, J. W.; Li, S.H.; Luo, S. Y.; Mo, C. N.; Qi, R. H. Floating beyond limits: a review on engineered floatable hydrogel platforms and emerging sustainable applications. Renew. Sust. Energ. Rev. 2025 , 219 , 115880..

Fan, G. D.; Du, B. H.; Zhou, J. J.; Yan, Z. S.; You, Y. F.; Luo, J. Porous self-floating 3D Ag 2 O/g-C 3 N 4 hydrogel and photocatalytic inactivation of microcystis aeruginosa under visible light. Chem. Eng. J. 2021 , 404 , 126509..

Wang, X.; Wang, Q. G. Enzyme-laden bioactive hydrogel for biocatalytic monitoring and regulation. Acc. Chem. Res. 2021 , 54 , 1274−1287..

Zhu, X. Y.; Zhang, L. H.; Zou, G. L.; Chen, Q.; Guo, Y. L.; Liang, S. M.; Hu, L. J.; North, M.; Xie, H. B. Carboxylcellulose hydrogel confined-Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles catalyst for Fenton-like degradation of rhodamine B. Int. J. Biol. Macromol. 2021 , 180 , 792−803..

Yang, W. J.; Si, L. F.; Cheng, C.; Cui, Y. Y.; Yan, X. L.; Liu, M. C.; Jing, D. W.; Shi, J. W.; Guo, L. J. Synergistic integration of atmospheric water harvesting and solar-driven hydrogen production via multifunctional hygroscopic-photocatalytic hydrogel nanocomposite. Adv. Funct. Mater. 2026 , 36 , e12738..

Liu, M.; Li, Y. X.; Liu, B. Z.; Li, L. K.; Guo, X.; Wu, Y. Q. CNF@Fe 3+ -PEDOT: PSS/CuCo 2 O 4 hydrogel enabling coupled photocatalysis-PMS activation-Fe 3+ /Fe 2+ redox shuttle for durable antibiotic removal. Appl. Catal. B-Environ. Energy 2026 , 382 , 126026..

He, H.; Zhang, Q.; Zhang, Y. M.; Qu, S. X.; Li, B.; Lin, J.; Lu, X.; Xie, C. M. Injectable bioadhesive and lubricating hydrogel with polyphenol mediated single atom nanozyme for rheumatoid arthritis therapy. Nat. Commun. 2025 , 16 , 2768..

Zhu, D. M.; Chen, H.; Huang, C. Y.; Li, G. X.; Wang, X.; Jiang, W.; Fan, K. L. H 2 O 2 self-producing single-atom nanozyme hydrogels as light-controlled oxidative stress amplifier for enhanced synergistic therapy by transforming "cold" tumors. Adv. Funct. Mater. 2022 , 32 , 2110268..

Yan, H. Y.; Jiao,L.; Wang, H. J.; Zhu, Y. M.; Chen, Y. F.; Shuai, L.; Gu, M.; Qiu, M.; Gu, W. L.; Zhu, C. Z. Single-atom Bi-anchored au hydrogels with specifically boosted peroxidase-like activity for cascade catalysis and sensing. Sens. Actuator B-Chem. 2021 , 343 , 130108..

Byun, J.; Landfester, K.; Zhang, K. A. I. Conjugated polymer hydrogel photocatalysts with expandable photoactive sites in water. Chem. Mat. 2019 , 31 , 3381−3387..

Hu, X. L.; Zhan, Z.; Zhang, J. Q.; Hussain, I.; Tan, B. E. Immobilized covalent triazine frameworks films as effective photocatalysts for hydrogen evolution reaction. Nat. Commun. 2021 , 12 , 6596..

Kuckhoff, T.; Landfester, K.; Zhang, K. A. I.; Ferguson, C. T. J. Photocatalytic hydrogels with a high transmission polymer network for pollutant remediation. Chem. Mat. 2021 , 33 , 9131−9138..

An, N.; Su, R. D.; Wang, Z. N.; Chen, W. F.; Zhou, W. Z.; Li, Q. Hydrogel-based photothermal evaporator for efficient solar desalination and synergistic removal of volatile organic compounds. Desalination 2023 , 565 , 116849..

Jiao, Y. Y.; Cheng, Z. Y.; Luo, H.; Zhao, Q. P.; Xiang, X. Y.; Zhang, Z. M. Floatable Fe-TiO 2 /hydrogel composite for photodegradation of water pollutants. Sci. China-Mater. 2024 , 67 , 4013−4020..

Kaur, K.; Jindal, R. Comparative study on the behaviour of chitosan-gelatin based hydrogel and nanocomposite ion exchanger synthesized under microwave conditions towards photocatalytic removal of cationic dyes. Carbohydr. Polym. 2019 , 207 , 398−410..

Kuspanov, Z.; Bakbolat, B.; Baimenov, A.; Issadykov, A.; Yeleuov, M.; Daulbayev, C. Photocatalysts for a sustainable future: Innovations in large-scale environmental and energy applications. Sci. Total Environ. 2023 , 885 , 163914..

Zhang, Y.; Liu, L. X.; Yin, S. X.; Zhou, C.; Ding, Y.; Che, G. J.; Zhao, C. Q. Underwater high strength and tough polyvinyl alcohol-polyacrylic acid hydrogel. Adv. Funct. Mater. 2025 , 35 , 2503023..

Zhang, Y. S.; Khademhosseini, A. Advances in engineering hydrogels. Science 2017 , 356 , eaaf3627..

Zhu, T. X.; Ni, Y. M.; Biesold, G. M.; Cheng, Y.; Ge, M. Z.; Li, H. Q.; Huang, J. Y.; Lin, Z. Q.; Lai, Y. K. Recent advances in conductive hydrogels: Classifications, properties, and applications. Chem. Soc. Rev. 2023 , 52 , 473−509..

Wang, Z. W.; Wei, H.; Huang, Y. J.; Wei, Y.; Chen, J. Naturally sourced hydrogels: Emerging fundamental materials for next-generation healthcare sensing. Chem. Soc. Rev. 2023 , 52 , 2992−3034..

Guo, Y. H.; Bae, J.; Fang, Z. W.; Li, P. P.; Zhao, F.; Yu, G. H. Hydrogels and hydrogel-derived materials for energy and water sustainability. Chem. Rev. 2020 , 120 , 7642−7707..

Zhao, F.; Bae, J.; Z hou, X. Y.; Guo, Y. H.; Yu, G. H. Nanostructured functional hydrogels as an emerging platform for advanced energy technologies. Adv. Mater. 2018 , 30 , 1801796..

Yang, Y. C.; Ru, Y. F.; Zhao, T. Y.; Liu, M. J. Bioinspired multiphase composite gel materials: From controlled micro-phase separation to multiple functionalities. Chem 2023 , 9 , 3113−3137..

Amalia, F. R.; Wang, L.; Bielan, Z.; Markowska-Szczupak, A.; Wei, Z. S.; Kowalska, E. Gels in heterogeneous photocatalysis: Past, present, and future. Gels 2024 , 10 , 810..

Sun, J.; Wang, L. X.; Huang, T.; Liu, K.; Fu, T.; Xu, Z. S.; Yang, W. H.; Tong, Z. F.; Zhang, H. B. Floating BiOBr/Ti 3 C 2 aerogel spheres for efficient degradation of quinolone antibiotics: Rapid oxygen transfer via triphase interface and effective charges separation by internal electric field. J. Colloid Interface Sci. 2025 , 685 , 813−825..

Wu, Y. C.; Zhang, L. Q.; Ge, J. L.; Zhang, Y. T.; Liu, L. Y.; Lan, Q. Q.; Liu, T. X. Phenolic aerogels with gradient porosity and self-floating photothermal interface for seawater desalination and wastewater purification. Desalination 2024 , 586 , 117771 ..

Zhang, L. H.; Yan, H.; Zhou, J. J.; Zhao, Z. G.; Huang, J.; Chen, L.; Ru, Y. F.; Liu, M. J. High-performance organohydrogel artificial muscle with compartmentalized anisotropic actuation under microdomain confinement. Adv. Mater. 2023 , 35 , 2202193..

Zhang, L. X.; Rao, L.; Wang, P. F.; Shi, Z. Y.; Wang, P. F. Superhydrophobic self-floating TiO 2 -silicone composite aerogels and their air-liquid-solid triphase photocatalytic system. Appl. Surf. Sci. 2021 , 536 , 147726..

Wang, K.; Zhao, T.; Ren, N. Q.; Ho, S. H. Asymmetric defective sites-mediated high-valent cobalt-oxo species in self-suspension aerogel platform for efficient peroxymonosulfate activation. Water Res. 2024 , 265 , 122304..

Yao, D. C.; Chen, Z.; Chu, C. C.; Ran, X. M.; Liu, X. R.; Mao, S. Positionally isomeric conjugated polymers for photosynthesis of hydrogen peroxide through triphase interface reaction. Appl. Catal. B-Environ. Energy 2025 , 367 , 125071..

Lei, L.; Wang, W. J.; Wang, C.; Fan, H. Q.; Yadav, A. K.; Hu, N.; Zhong, Q.; Müller-Bus chbaum, P. Hydrogel-supported graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets loaded with Pt atoms as a novel self-water-storage photocatalyst for H 2 evolution. J. Mater. Chem. A 2020 , 8 , 23812−23819..

Jiang, W. J.; Luo, W. J.; Zong, R. L.; Yao, W. Q.; Li, Z. P.; Zhu, Y. F. Polyaniline/Carbon Nitride nanosheets composite hydrogel: a separation-free and high-efficient photocatalyst with 3D hierarchical structure. Small 2016 , 12 , 4370−4378..

Sharma, G.; Kumar, A.; Sharma, S.; Al-Muhtaseb, A. H.; Naushad, M.; Ghfar, A. A.; Ahamad, T.; Stadler, F. J. Fabrication and characterization of novel Fe 0 @Guar gum-crosslinked-soya lecithin nanocomposite hydrogel for photocatalytic degradation of methyl violet dye. Sep. Purif. Technol. 2019 , 211 , 895−908..

Wang, J. M.; Li, X. X.; Cheng, Q. Y.; Lv, F. Z.; Chang, C. Y.; Zhang, L. N. Construction of β-FeOOH@tunicate cellulose nanocomposite hydrogels and their highly efficient photocatalytic properties. Carbohydr. Polym. 2020 , 229 , 115470..

Hu, C.; Lin, Y. R.; Yang, H. C. Recent developments in graphitic Carbon Nitride based hydrogels as photocatalysts. ChemSusChem 2019 , 12 , 1794−1806..

Jiang, W. J.; Zhu, Y. F.; Zhu, G. X.; Zhang, Z. J.; Chen, X. J.; Yao, W. Q. Three-dimensional photocatalysts with a network structure. J. Mater. Chem. A 2017 , 5 , 5661−5679..

Wen, Y. T.; Xue, C. L.; Ji, D. L.; Zhang, Y.; Zhang, M.; Gong, W. Q.; Li, Z. Q.; Li, Y. Green construction of self-floating polysaccharide-based hydrogels with catalytic activity for efficient organic pollutants reduction. Int. J. Biol. Macromol. 2024 , 271 , 132507..

Chen, W.; Liu, Z. Z.; Xie, Y. S.; Guo, X. Z.; Xie, H. J.; Chen, J. H.; Zhang, Z.; Ding, L. Synthesis of ZIF-67 composite lignin hydrogel and its catalytic degradation of naphthalene by PMS in wastewater. Int. J. Biol. Macromol. 2025 , 298 , 139700..

Wang, F.; Zhang, Y. R.; Peng, Y. Y.; Xiao, W. Y.; Yu, W. C.; Wang, H.; Bian, Z. Y. Continuous peroxymonosufate activation for antibiotics degradation via Fluorine-free-Ti 3 C 2 T x -CoFe 2 O 4 hydrogel beads: Performance, mechanism and application. Appl. Catal. B-Environ. Energy 2024 , 358 , 124441..

Zhou, H. S.; Zha, H.; Zhang, Z. Z.; Huang, J.; Liu, M. J. Advanced mechanical polymer nanocomposites: From confined interphase to structural synergy. Chem. Commun. 2025 , 61 , 16132−16149..

Chen, L.; Chai, J.; Zhang, L.; Zhou, J.; Huang, J.; Liu, M. High-strength shape-memory ionogels with controllable metastable state for high-work-density actuation. CCS Chem. 2025 , 7 , 2086−2097..

Tang, Y. A.; Qin, Z.; Zhong, Y. H.; Yin, S. Y.; Liang, S.; Sun, H. Three-phase interface photocatalysis for the enhanced degradation and antibacterial property. J. Colloid Interface Sci. 2022 , 612 , 194−202..

Mohapatra, L.; Paramanik, L.; Sabnam, S.; Yoo, S. H. Advanced strategies for controlling three-phase boundaries in photocatalysis. Nanoscale 2024 , 16 , 22099−22119..

Mu, C. F.; Zhang, Y.; Cui, W. Q.; Liang, Y. H.; Zhu, Y. F. Removal of bisphenol a over a separation free 3D Ag 3 PO 4 -graphene hydrogel via an adsorption-photocatalysis synergy. Appl. Catal. B-Environ. 2017 , 212 , 41−49..

[Li, J. Y.; Yu, X.; Zhu, Y.; Fu, X. H.; Zhang, Y. M. 3D-2D-3D BiOI/porous g-C 3 N 4 /graphene hydrogel composite photocatalyst with synergy of adsorption-photocatalysis in static and flow systems. J. Alloy. Compd . 2021 , 850 , 156778..

Yang, J. H.; Li, Z. K.; Zhu, H. J. Adsorption and photocatalytic degradation of sulfamethoxazole by a novel composite hydrogel with visible light irradiation. Appl. Catal. B-Environ. 2017 , 217 , 603−614..

Li, Y.; Cui, W. Q.; Liu, L.; Zong, R. L.; Yao, W. Q.; Liang, Y. H.; Zhu, Y. F. Removal of Cr(Ⅵ) by 3D TiO 2 -graphene hydrogel via adsorption enriched with photocatalytic reduction. Appl. Catal. B-Environ. 2016 , 199 , 412−423..

Yin, S. X.; Ding, Y.; Zhang, Y.; Zhou, C.; Qian, C.; Che, G. J.; Zhao, C. Q.; Jiang, L. Superstrong and transparent hydrogels with homogeneous multiple networks. Macromolecules 2025 , 58 , 4357−4364..

Dalponte, I.; de Sousa, B. C.; Mathias, A. L.; Jorge, R. M. M. Formulation and optimization of a novel TiO 2 /calcium alginate floating photocatalyst. Int. J. Biol. Macromol. 2019 , 137 , 992−1001..

Gou, K. J.; Li, T. X.; Zhang, C. Y.; Wu, D. X.; Zhu, H. T. Salting-out/sacrificial template strategy for the preparation of hydrogels as efficient solar evaporators. Chem. Eng. J. 2024 , 480 , 148210..

Wang, Y.; Chai, J.; Wang, H.; Xiao, T.; Zhao, J.; Chen, L.; Lei, W.; Liu, M. Solvent-mediated microphase separation in ionogels for the construction of mechanically robust and high-energy-output moisture-electric generators. Interdisciplinary Mater. 2025 , 4 , 869−880..

Yang, X.; Shi, F.; Su, X. L.; Cavaco-Paulo, A.; Wang, H. B.; Su, J. In-situ encapsulation and construction of Lac@HOFs/hydrogel composite for enhancing laccase stability and azo dyes decolorization efficiency. Carbohydr. Polym. 2023 , 320 , 121157..

Li, S. M.; Liu, J.; Li, C. J.; Fang, X. Y.; Wang, X.; Tian, L.; Yu, Z. Z.; Li, X. F. Robust and antifouling composite hydrogels enhanced by directional freeze-casting and salting-out for highly efficient solar evaporation. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2024 , 16 , 66560−66570..

Zhang, X. T.; Chen, W. L.; Li, X. Q. Efficiently recyclable Fe-doped ZnO/bacterial cellulose-based composite aerogel for photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue under visible light. J. Polym. Environ. 2024 , 32 , 4315−4329..

Ren, J. X.; Zhu, J. L.; Shi, S. C.; Yin, M. Q.; Huang, H. D.; Li, Z. M. In-situ structuring a robust cellulose hydrogel with ZnO/SiO 2 heterojunctions for efficient photocatalytic degradation. Carbohydr. Polym. 2022 , 296 , 119957..

Ahmadian, Z.; Kazeminava, F.; Afrouz, M.; Abbaszadeh, M.; Mehr, N. T.; Shiran, J. A.; Gouda, C.; Adeli, M.; Kafil, H. S. A review on the impacts of metal/metal nanoparticles on characteristics of hydrogels: Special focus on carbohydrate polymers. Int. J. Biol. Macromol. 2023 , 253 , 126535..

Lin, L.; Wang, W. R.; Li, D. Y.; Xu, S. Y.; Sun, Y.; Li, L. F.; Fan, K.; Xing, C. Y.; Zhang, L.; Li, J. H. Multifunctional graphene/Ag hydrogel with antimicrobial and catalytic properties for efficient solar-driven desalination and wastewater purification. Chem. Eng. J. 2023 , 478 , 147249..

Nayak, S.; Goswami, S.; Sharma, D.; Sen, A.; Sarkar, A.; Naskar, D.; Dan, A. In-situ grown nanosilver in chitosan-graph ene oxide hydrogels as a robust composite catalyst for sustainable degradation of organic water pollutants. Int. J. Biol. Macromol. 2025 , 330 , 147952..

Lan, L. M.; Liu, B. N.; Li, W. X.; Bu, H. T.; Hu, T.; Hu, H. J.; Li, Y. T.; Jiang, G. B. Facilely recoverable Pb(Ⅱ) adsorbent based on greigite (Fe 3 S 4 ) loaded alginate aerogel with high adsorption efficiency. Chemosphere 2022 , 290 , 133264..

Zhao, H.; Li, Y. Removal of heavy metal ion by floatable hydrogel and reusability of its waste material in photocatalytic degradation of organic dyes. J. Environ. Chem. Eng. 2021 , 9 , 105316..

Ding, N.; Zhu, J.; Qiao, Y.; Yao, D.; Gao, X.; Chen, J.; Lu, C.; Pang, X. Janus-structured self-floating hydrogel via thermal localization and arched evaporation interface design toward all-weather efficient solar desalination. Chem. Eng. J. 2025 , 513 , 162851..

Han, M. Z.; Wang, Z. H.; Xie, Z. Y.; Hou, M. X.; Gao, Z. P. Polydopamine-modified sodium alginate hydrogel for microplastics removal: adsorption performance, characteristics, and kinetics. Int. J. Biol. Macromol. 2025 , 297 , 139947..

Shen, F. T.; Wang, J. Z.; Wang, L. B.; Zang, L. L.; Xu, Q.; Sun, L. G.; Zhang, Y. H. Copper phthalocyanine modified hydrogel inverse opal beads for enhanced photocatalytic removal of dyes. J. Mater. Chem. A 2023 , 11 , 10195−10203..

[Zhou, S. Y.; Ren, Z. Y.; Yang, L.; Zhu, C. L.; Xie, W. X.; Feng, X. Y.; Jing, Q. In situ anchoring of Fe-doped ZIF-67 on nanocellulose/chitosan aerogel for efficient removal of tetracycline: synergistic effects of adsorption and catalysis. J. Environ. Chem. Eng . 2025 , 13 , 119954..

Wang, Y.; Qin, H.; Li, Z.; Dai, J.; Cong, H.-P.; Yu, S.-H. Highly compressible and environmentally adaptive conductors with high-tortuosity interconnected cellular architecture. Nature Synthesis 2022 , 1 , 975−986..

Hou, Z. H.; Sun, Q.; Wang, Z. Y.; Bai, L. J.; Chen, H.; Wang, W. X.; Yang, L. X.; Yang, H. W.; Wei, D. L. Fabrication of amphoteric gelatin nanospheres-doped self-healing nanocomposite hydrogels and the application in flexible sensors. React. Funct. Polym. 2023 , 192 , 105729..

Lei, W. W.; Liu, Y. H.; Khan, S.; Suzuki, N.; Terashima, C.; Fujishima, A.; Liu, M. J. Synergistically regulated surface structure and water transportation of sponge hydrogel evaporator for efficient water desalination. Desalination 2022 , 533 , 115780..

Li, N.; Luo, L.; Guo, C.; He, J. T.; Wang, S. X.; Yu, L. M.; Wang, M.; Murto, P.; Xu, X. F. Shape-controlled fabrication of cost-effective, scalable and anti-biofouling hydrogel foams for solar-powered clean water production. Chem. Eng. J. 2022 , 431 , 134144..

Chen, L.; Ding, Y.; Gong, J.; Xie, H.; Qu, J. P.; Niu, R. Molecular engineering of biomass-derived hybrid hydrogels for solar water purification. J. Colloid Interface Sci. 2022 , 626 , 231−240..

[Liu, W. Q.; Erol, O.; Gracias, D. H. 3D printing of an in situ grown mof hydrogel with tunable mechanical properties. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2020 , 12 , 33267−33275..

Zhu, J.; Xiao, Z. Y.; Song, F. Y.; Huang, X. Y.; Chen, D. Y.; Nie, Z. H. Amphiphilic janus patch-grafted hydrogels for salt-rejecting solar water desalination. J. Mater. Chem. A 2024 , 12 , 17142..

Lin, X. L.; Wang, P.; Hong, R. T.; Zhu, X.; Liu, Y. C.; Pan, X. J.; Qiu, X. Q.; Qin, Y. L. Fully lignocellulosic biomass-based double-layered porous hydrogel for efficient solar steam generation. Adv. Funct. Mater. 2022 , 32 , 2209262..

Tripathy, H.; Balakrishnan, A.; Chinthala, M.; Kumar, A. Ternary indium sulfide based 3D hydrogels as versatile photocatalysts: Unraveling peroxymonosulfate activation for sulfamethoxazole degradation and H 2 O 2 production. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2024 , 63 , 20125−20143..

Li, X. K.; Yang, R.; Zou, L.; Zheng, S. Z.; Chen, M. S.; Wen, J.; Zhang, H.; Wu, C.; Zhang, Y. C.; Zhou, Y. T. Reassessing the role of thermal convection in simultaneous water production and pollutant degradation in interfacial photothermal-photocatalytic systems. Adv. Mater. 2025 , 37 , 2416283..

Liu, C.; Yao, A. R.; Li, W.; Xu, Q.; Yang, L.; Ge, Y. Q.; Lan, J. W.; Lin, S. J.; Qiu, J. H. Design of Go@TiO 2 and PDA@CNC decorated gelatin aerogel for efficient adsorption and photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants. J. Water Process. Eng. 2025 , 75 , 108024..

Sarkodie, B.; Amesimeku, J.; Frimpong, C.; Howard, E. K.; Feng, Q.; Xu, Z. Z. Photocatalytic degradation of dyes by novel electrospun nanofibers: a review. Chemosphere 2023 , 313 , 137654..

Amornpitoksuk, P.; Kongseng, P.; Chantarak, S.; Suwanboon, S. Degradation of organic pollutants by floatable Fe-PAM hydrogel. Desalination 2024 , 571 , 117103..

Suryaa, K. V.; Balakrishnan, A.; Chinthala, M.; Devi, K. B.; Tripathy, H.; Kumar, A.; Aminabhavi, T. M.; Rtimi, S. Photocatalytic self-Fenton degradation of tetracycline over Z-scheme functionalized g-C 3 N 4 /CeO 2 /Bi 2 S 3 hydrogel beads: dynamics, mechanism, degradation pathways and toxicity analysis. Chem. Eng. J. 2025 , 505 , 159470..

An, W. J.; Yang, T.; Liu, C.; Hu, J. S.; Cui, W. Q.; Liang, Y. H. CuBi 2 O 4 surface-modified three-dimensional graphene hydrogel adsorption and in situ photocatalytic Fenton synergistic degradation of organic pollutants. Appl. Surf. Sci. 2023 , 615 , 156396..

Zhang, S. B.; Wang, X.; Shen, H. X.; Zhang, J.; Dong, W. L.; Yu , Z. Y. Scalable nanoplastic degradation in water with enzyme-functionalized porous hydrogels. J. Hazard. Mater. 2025 , 487 , 137196..

Lee, W. H.; Lee, C. W.; Cha, G. D.; Lee, B. H.; Jeong, J. H.; Park, H.; Heo, J.; Bootharaju, M. S.; Sunwoo, S. H.; Kim, J. H.; Ahn, K. H.; Kim, D. H.; Hyeon, T. Floatable photocatalytic hydrogel nanocomposites for large-scale solar hydrogen production. Nat. Nanotechnol. 2023 , 18 , 754−762..

He, C.; Shang, L.; Zhu, H. F.; Yu, L. C.; Wang, L. Z.; Zhang, J. L. Photocatalytic conversion of methane to ethanol at a three-phase interface with concentration-matched hydroxyl and methyl radicals. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2024 , 146 , 11968−11977..

Yang, Y. Y.; Luo, T. T.; He, M.; Yu, J.; Wu, X.; An, M. Z.; Lei, T.; Qin, Q. Q.; Qin, S. H. Boosting hydroxyl radical production via floatable S-scheme heterojunction-integrated polyacrylic acid hydrogels as a photo-self-Fenton catalyst for pollutant removal. J. Mater. Chem. A 2025 , 13 , 14372−14391..

Li, Y. Z.; Chen, B. S.; Yao, D. H.; Gao, X. P.; Chen, J.; Lu, C.; Pang, X. C. Enhancing salt resistance and all-day efficient solar interfacial evaporation of antibacterial sodium alginate-based porous hy drogels via surface patterning. Carbohydr. Polym. 2025 , 359 , 123588..

Xu, X. Y.; Qiu, J. X.; Li, Z.; Fu, A. N.; Yuan, S. T.; Li, H.; Lu, B. Y. A bifunctional polyacrylamide-alginate-TiO 2 hydrogel solar evaporator for integrated high-efficiency desalination and photocatalytic degradation. Desalination 2025 , 611 , 118920..

Niu, R.; Ren, J. X.; Koh, J. J.; Chen, L.; Gong, J.; Qu, J. P.; Xu, X. D.; Azadmanjiri, J.; Min, J. K. Bio-inspired sandwich-structured all-day-round solar evaporator for synergistic clean water and electricity generation. Adv. Energy Mater. 2023 , 13 , 2302451..

Views

Downloads

CSCD

Alert me when the article has been cited

Submit

Tools

Publicity Resources

Self-powered Posture Recognition Based on Thermoelectric Hydrogel

Special Topic on Functional Gels

High-performance Polyimide Cuff Tube with Tunable Mechanics and Long-term Biocompatibility for Microvascular Anastomosis

A Pyrazine-based Covalent Organic Framework as a Cathode Material for Aqueous Rechargeable Zinc-ion Batteries

Direct Ink Writing 3D Printing of Hydrogel Bioelectronics

Related Author

No data

Related Institution

No data

⁰