Sustainable Water Purification: Waste-Derived Carbon for Advanced Desalination

The field of advanced materials for water treatment and desalination is rapidly evolving, with an increasing emphasis on sustainability and resource circularity. In particular, the development of high-performance carbon-based materials sourced from biowaste has emerged as a promising strategy for sustainable water purification. While significant progress has been made in employing waste-derived carbons as electrodes for capacitive deionization (CDI), photothermal materials in interfacial solar distillation (ISD), and sorbents in adsorption distillation, a fundamental understanding of how structural and chemical characteristics influence performance remains underexplored. Current research is largely oriented toward applied and technological implementations, often overlooking the fundamental structure–property–performance relationships that are vital for the rational design of next-generation desalination materials. Recent studies highlight the tremendous potential of tailored carbon architectures, but the underlying mechanisms—such as pore size distribution, graphitization, surface functionalities, and charge transport—are still subject to ongoing investigation and debate.This Research Topic aims to bridge this gap by fostering a deeper mechanistic comprehension of waste-derived carbon materials in desalination systems. It invites contributions that elucidate the relationships between material microstructure, surface chemistry, and desalination performance in CDI, ISD, and adsorption-driven technologies. Key questions include how the choice of biowaste precursor, synthesis conditions, activation strategies, and heteroatom doping schemes govern ion transport, adsorption capacity, thermal conversion, and long-term durability. Studies leveraging advanced characterization methods, operando/in-situ techniques, and theoretical modeling to unravel the fundamental processes at play are highly encouraged. Ultimately, the goal is to establish robust design principles that will accelerate the discovery and optimization of high-efficiency, sustainable carbon-based materials for water purification.To gather further insights in the fundamental and applied boundaries of waste-derived carbon materials for desalination, we welcome contributions addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:- Mechanistic studies linking carbon material structure and desalination performance- Elucidation of pore architecture, surface chemistry, and electronic/thermal properties governing CDI, ISD, and adsorptive processes- Advanced synthesis and modification methods for structure-function optimization, guided by green chemistry- Operando and in-situ characterization of dynamic processes, degradation, and failure modes- Modeling and simulation studies highlighting rate-limiting steps and interfacial phenomena- Integration strategies for scalable application and device prototyping based on mechanistic insights- Life-cycle, techno-economic, and environmental analyses rooted in material structure–performance knowledge Topic editors: Najma Memon, Ahsan Habib, Fatih Erci Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/76024/sustainable-water-purification-waste-derived-carbon-for-advanced-desalination