Enhanced Photothermal Effect Assisted by Resonance Energy Transfer in Carbon/Covellite Core–Shell Nanoparticles toward a High-Performance Interfacial Water Evaporation Process

Carbon and semiconductor nanoparticles are promising photothermal materials for various solar-driven applications. Inevitable recombination of photoinduced charge carriers in a single constituent, however, hinders the realization of a greater photothermal effect. Core–shell heterostructures utilizing the donor–acceptor pair concept with high-quality interfaces can inhibit energy loss from the radiation relaxation of excited species, thereby enhancing the photothermal effect. Here, core–shell structures composed of a covellite (CuS) shell (acceptor) and spherical carbon nanoparticle (CP) core (donor) (abbreviated as CP/CuS) are proposed to augment the photothermal conversion efficiency via the Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) mechanism. The close proximity and spectral overlap of the donor and acceptor trigger the FRET mechanism, where the electronic excitation relaxation energy of the CP reinforces the plasmonic resonance and near-infrared absorption in CuS, resulting in boosting the overall photothermal conversion efficiency. CP/CuS core–shell coated on polyurethane (PU) foam exhibits a total solar absorption of 97.1%, leading to an elevation in surface temperature of 61.6 °C in dry conditions under simulated solar illumination at a power density of 1 kW m –2 (i.e., 1 sun). Leveraging the enhanced photothermal conversion emanated from the energy transfer effect in the core–shell structure, CP/CuS-coated PU foam achieves an evaporation rate of 1.62 kg m –2 h –1 and an energy efficiency of 93.8%. Thus, amplifying photothermal energy generation in core–shell structures via resonance energy transfer can be promising in solar energy-driven applications and thus merits further exploration.