Recent Advances in Multifunctional Photothermal Materials for Solar‐Driven Steam and Energy Generation

Abstract

Solar‐driven evaporation technology is rejuvenated by multifunctional photothermal materials into complimentary energy conversion applications. These multifunctional materials endow broadband solar absorptions, chemical/physical stability, porous, and active sites for in ‐situ photodegradation with exceptional solar‐to‐vapor conversion efficiencies. The structural configuration of evaporation structures is significantly improved by effective thermal management and salt‐resistant water channels with balanced relation between evaporation flux and water intake. These attributes lead this technology to higher evaporation rates and complimentary applications such as waste heat recovery to thermoelectricity, salt collection from seawater, and micro‐organism disinfection from wastewater. This review comprehensively reports the recent advances in state‐of‐the‐art multifunctional materials, novel evaporation designs with significant structural optimization, and their small‐scale prototypes. The current challenges, origins, and possible solutions are provided. This systematic review inspires the nanoresearch community to push forward solar‐driven evaporation technology with superb complimentary energy conversion applications.