Interfacial solar evaporator for clean water production and beyond: From design to application

In recent years, interfacial solar evaporation technology has shown great prospects in many applications such as seawater desalination, wastewater treatment, sterilization, and other fields. The efficiency of interfacial solar evaporators (ISEs) has approached 100%, benefitting from photothermal material development and advanced structural design. Herein, we have summarized the strategies to enhance the evaporation performance of ISEs from photothermal materials to evaporation systems. In addition, the available strategies for long-term stable desalination are reviewed. Finally, the potential applications, difficulties, challenges, and opportunities for the future are discussed. We hope that this review can provide some insights into the design of high-efficiency ISEs, development of novel ISEs for stable desalination, acceleration of the practical applications of ISEs, and exploration of other potential applications of ISEs simultaneously.

Automated summary

This article introduces the potential applications of interfacial solar evaporation technology in fields such as seawater desalination and wastewater treatment, summarizes strategies to enhance the performance of interfacial solar evaporators and ensure long-term stable desalination, and discusses future development opportunities and challenges.