Converting polyesters into carbon materials for energy and environmental applications provides a promising way to recycle urban and industrial waste plastics. However, previous strategies could not precisely control the crosslinking reaction of polyester. Herein, poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) is transformed into O,S-doped hierarchically porous carbon (OSHPC) using sodium lignosulfonate (SLS) and ZnO at 550 °C. SLS/ZnO show a synergistic effect on the PET carbonization. Firstly, a crosslinking structure is generated through esterification of carboxylic acid in PET degradation products with hydroxyl group in SLS. Subsequently, ZnO promotes de-carbonylation of crosslinking structure into vinyl-terminated chains and radical species to form carbon framework with rich micropores. Upon ZnO removal, numerous mesopores/macropores are introduced. OSHPC thereby bears micro-/meso-/macropores with rich chemical groups, which favor for water transportation. Meanwhile, the bead-like particles in OSHPC improve sunlight absorption. The combined advantages endue OSHPC with high performance in solar vapor generation to produce freshwater from wastewater/seawater. The evaporation rate under 1 kW/m² is 1.51 kg/m²/h, and the metallic ion removal efficiency is >99.9%. This work reutilizes waste polyesters to fabricate functional carbon and contributes to environmental remediation and solar energy exploitation.

将聚酯转变为用于能源和环境应用的碳材料为回收城市和工业废塑料提供了一种有前途的方法。但是，先前的策略不能精确地控制聚酯的交联反应。在此，使用木质素磺酸钠（SLS）和ZnO在550°C下将聚对苯二甲酸乙二醇酯（PET）转化为O，S掺杂的分级多孔碳（OSHPC）。SLS / ZnO对PET碳化具有协同作用。首先，交联结构是通过PET降解产物中的羧酸与SLS中的羟基酯化而产生的。随后，ZnO促进交联结构的脱羰基化为乙烯基末端的链和自由基，从而形成具有丰富微孔的碳骨架。去除ZnO后，会引入许多中孔/大孔。OSHPC因此带有带有丰富化学基团的微孔/中孔/大孔，有利于水的运输。同时，OSHPC中的珠状颗粒改善了阳光吸收。综合优势使OSHPC在产生太阳能蒸气方面具有高性能，可以从废水/海水中产生淡水。蒸发速度1 kW / m以下²为1.51 kg / m ² / h，金属离子去除效率> 99.9％。这项工作重新利用了废聚酯，以制造功能碳，并为环境修复和太阳能开发做出了贡献。