Self-Floating Carbonized Tissue Membrane Derived from Commercial Facial Tissue for Highly Efficient Solar Steam Generation

Solar steam generation holds great promise for practically utilizing solar energy in seawater desalination and sewage purification on a large scale. It has been proven that local heating of superficial water can maximize the energy efficiency for steam generation. Accordingly, photothermal materials are required to float on the water during this process. However, the fabrication of a photothermal material with a self-floating ability, low cost, and easy-preparation for solar steam generation is highly challenging. Herein, a self-floating carbonized tissue membrane for high-efficiency solar steam generation is prepared via the carbonization of commercial facial tissue. The low-cost and scalable carbonized tissue membrane can float on water without any assistance and can effectively generate water steam at the rate of 4.45 kg m–2 h–1 with a photothermal conversion efficiency of as high as 95% under 3-sun illumination. The self-floating ability, high solar steam generation performance, and low cost cause the carbonized tissue membrane to be a potential alternative for practical applications in the future.