Electrospinning Technique Meets Solar Energy: Electrospun Nanofiber-Based Evaporation Systems for Solar Steam Generation

The huge gap between inadequate clean water supply and demanding human needs can be narrowed by sustainable and green methods of solar-driven evaporation, which effectively converts solar energy into thermal energy to purify seawater and wastewater. Electrospun materials produced from a facile electrospinning technique can be combined with functional photothermal materials, giving rise to various superior advantages in solar water evaporation. However, to date, few reviews have focused on this topic. This article reviews the recent progress of electrospun nanofiber-based evaporation systems focusing on polymer selection, available solar materials, incorporation strategies of solar materials, system configurations, factors influencing the performance, and applications of electrospun nanofiber evaporation systems. The incorporation strategies of solar materials and system configurations in electrospun nanofiber evaporators are classified and systematically discussed. Finally, the challenges and perspectives of the electrospun nanofiber evaporation systems are also presented. This review updates the progress of electrospun nanofiber evaporation systems and simultaneously stimulates attractive research on designing electrospun nanofiber-based photothermal systems for applications in solar water evaporation, photothermal therapy, electricity generation, and other related areas.

Automated summary

The huge gap between inadequate clean water supply and demanding human needs can be narrowed by sustainable and green methods of solar-driven evaporation, which effectively converts solar energy into thermal energy to purify seawater and wastewater. Electrospun materials and functional photothermal materials have been used to improve solar water evaporation systems. However, there is a lack of comprehensive reviews on this topic.