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A photonic bandgap is a range of wavelengths wherein light is forbidden from entering a photonic crystal, similar to the electronic bandgap in semiconductors. Fabricating photonic crystals with a complete photonic bandgap in the visible spectrum presents at least two important challenges: achieving a material refractive index > ~2 and a three-dimensional patterning resolution better than ~280 nm (lattice constant of 400 nm). Here we show an approach to overcome such limitations using additive manufacturing, thus realizing high-quality, high-refractive index photonic crystals with size-tunable bandgaps across the visible spectrum. We develop a titanium ion-doped resin (Ti-Nano) for high-resolution printing by two-photon polymerization lithography. After printing, the structures are heat-treated in air to induce lattice shrinkage and produce titania nanostructures. We attain three-dimensional photonic crystals with patterning resolution as high as 180 nm and refractive index of 2.4–2.6. Optical characterization reveals ~100% reflectance within the photonic crystal bandgap in the visible range. Finally, we show capabilities in defining local defects and demonstrate proof-of-principle applications in spectrally selective perfect reflectors and chiral light discriminators.

Solar vapor generation is emerging as a promising technology using solar energy for various applications including desalination and freshwater production. However, from the viewpoints of industrial and academic research, it remains challenging to prepare low-cost and high-efficiency photothermal materials. In this work, we report the controlled carbonization of polypropylene (PP) using NiO and poly(ionic liquid) (PIL) as combined catalysts to prepare a Ni/carbon nanomaterial (Ni/CNM). The morphology and textural property of Ni/CNM are modulated by adding a trace amount of PIL. Ni/CNM consists of cup-stacked carbon nanotubes (CS-CNTs) and pear-shaped metallic Ni nanoparticles. Due to the synergistic effect of Ni and CS-CNTs in solar absorption, Ni/CNM possesses an excellent property of photothermal conversion. Meanwhile, Ni/CNM with a high specific surface area and rich micro-/meso-/macropores constructs a three-dimensional (3D) porous network for efficient water supply and vapor channels. Thanks to high solar absorption, fast water transport, and low thermal conductivity, Ni/CNM exhibits a high water evaporation rate of 1.67 kg m-2h-1, a solar-to-vapor conversion efficiency of 94.9%, and an excellent stability for 10 cycles. It also works well when converting dye-containing water, seawater, and oil/water emulsion into healthy drinkable water. The metallic ion removal efficiency of seawater is 99.99%, and the dye removal efficiency is >99.9%. More importantly, it prevails over the-state-of-art carbon-based photothermal materials in solar energy-driven vapor generation. This work not only proposes a new sustainable approach to convert waste polymers into advanced metal/ carbon hybrids, but also contributes to the fields of solar energy utilization and seawater desalination.

Sustainable conversion of waste plastics into valuable carbon materials for diverse applications provides a promising strategy to dispose the municipal and industrial waste plastics. However, it remains a challenge to precisely control the crosslinking reaction for transforming waste polyesters into N-doped porous carbon (NPC) with well-defined microstructures. Herein, we put forwards a strategy of stepwise crosslinking using melamine and ZnCl2/NaCl eutectic salts to convert poly (ethylene terephthalate) (PET) into NPC at 550 °C. We prove that firstly melamine reacts with PET degradation products to form a crosslinking structure, and subsequently ZnCl2/NaCl promote the dehydration and decarboxylation of the crosslinking structure to generate a more thermally stable crosslinking structure. The coordination of two tandem crosslinking reactions is critical to control the microstructure of NPC. Without activations, NPC shows large specific surface area of 1173 m2 g−1, abundant N dopants, and rich oxygen-containing groups. These combined features endure NPC with excellent performance in CO2capture and solar steam generation, e.g., high CO2adsorption capacity of 6.47 mmol g−1and evaporation rate of 1.62 kg m−2 h−1. More importantly, NPC is compared to or prevails over previous carbon-based CO2adsorbents or photothermal materials. This work will advance the research on “green” reutilization of low-cost polyester wastes to prepare sustainable carbon for solar energy conversion, environmental protection, etc.