JSM-6500F microscope. The XRD 2θ scan was executed via a lab
source (4-circle) X-ray diffractometer (wavelength = 1.5406 Å;
Cu Kα1, D8 Discover, Bruker). The Raman spectrum
at room temperature was recorded using a 473 nm excitation source.
FTIR spectroscopy in the range 4000–1000 cm–1 was acquired using a Bruker Invenio R spectrometer. The water contact
angles of the samples were measured by SEO, Phoenix 300. The diffuse
reflectance and transmittance spectra were acquired using a Varian,
Cary5000 spectrometer, equipped with an integrating sphere. An Abet
Tech Inc. 10,500 solar simulator was used to replicate the natural
sunlight. The temperature profiles were measured using a Testo-868
(160 × 120 pixels) thermal imager. A 1.5 × 1.5 cm2 IFCS/FP was placed in a square container under the solar simulator
at one and three sun position on an electronic balance (Vibra, AJH-220E-D)
to record the mass change of bulk water. The ion concentrations of
saline and desalinated water were analyzed by ICP mass spectrometry.