# Solar‐Powered Electrokinetic Filtration using Hierarchical Porous Membranes for the Off‐Grid Removal of Ultrafine Contaminants

## TL;DR

A solar-powered filtration system efficiently removes tiny pollutants from water using electrokinetic techniques, making clean water accessible in remote areas.

## Contribution

A scalable, solar-powered electrokinetic filtration system is introduced that removes ultrafine contaminants without nanoscale pores or high pressure.

## Key findings

- The system achieves >99.9% removal of sub-50-nm particles with high fluxes (>400 L m−2 h−1).
- It efficiently rejects gold nanoparticles, dyes, and E. coli under low energy consumption (~10 Wh L−1).
- The antifouling membrane retains performance over 20 reuse cycles and supports linear scalability.

## Abstract

The removal of ultrafine suspended solids from water remains a critical challenge due to the tradeoffs among permeability, energy consumption, and fouling resistance. Electrokinetic techniques offer a membrane‐free alternative; however, they are limited by low throughput, heavy reliance on auxiliary equipment, and technically demanding operations. Herein, a scalable, solar‐powered nanoelectrokinetic filtration platform is proposed, which enables the efficient removal of nanoparticles (NPs), organic dyes, and Escherichia coli (E. coli) using micrometer‐scale porous membranes. The core component is a hierarchically structured membrane, consisting of a biodegradable cellulose–cotton scaffold coated with ion‐exchange resin and Nafion, forming confined microchannels and ion‐selective nanochannels that generate stable electrokinetic repulsion under an applied electric field. Powered by a photovoltaic module and operated under gravity‐driven flow (<1 kPa), the system achieves >99.9% removal of sub‐50‐nm particles, including species <10 nm, at high fluxes (>400 L m−2 h−1), and efficiently rejects gold NPs, dyes, and E. coli, with stable voltage and energy consumption (≈10 Wh L−1) under tap water conditions. Moreover, the antifouling washable membrane retains its performance over 20 reuse cycles and supports linear scalability. Overall, the present study establishes a new class of electrokinetic‐assisted filtration systems with high potential for off‐grid water purification in resource‐limited environments.

A solar‐powered nanoelectrokinetic filtration system enables high‐flux removal of ultrafine contaminants without relying on nanoscale pores or pressure‐driven membranes, offering a sustainable solution for the off‐grid water purification.