Solar-Driven Interfacial Evaporation: Material Types, Structural Strategies, and Emerging Applications

Solar-driven interfacial evaporation (SDIE) is an emerging eco-friendly and low-carbon technology and has been widely studied in the field of photothermal applications in recent years. With the attention and development of SDIE in innovation fields, new strategies, structures, and typical materials are gradually being developed and applied. Therefore, it is important to report on these latest developments. Here, we provide a detailed review of advanced materials, structural strategies, and emerging applications in the field of SDIE. Advanced photothermal materials, such as biomass materials, hydrogels, metal-organic frameworks, and light-absorbing materials, have demonstrated significant desalination capability. Three-dimensional evaporators absorbing energy from the environment to enhance evaporation and salt resistance are described in detail. Furthermore, new strategies of integrated hydropower generation, evaporative/radiative cooling, atmospheric water harvesting, photocatalytic degradation, and heavy metal removal are highlighted. In addition, new concepts of soil remediation technologies covering saline soil remediation, automated soil irrigation, and soil fertility enhancement are reviewed in detail. Finally, the future challenges and perspectives of the SDIE technology for multidisciplinary applications are discussed and analyzed.