Mixed-Dimensional Self-Assembly of Photothermal GO/Plasmonic NP- Coated Fabric Heaters with Sandwich Structure Toward Solar-Driven Personal Thermotherapy, Interfacial Water Evaporation, and Thermoelectricity Generation Applications

Solar energy, as a clean and sustainable energy source, has garnered significant attention across various fields, including personal thermal management, interfacial water evaporation, and thermoelectric generation, due to its efficient photothermal conversion effect. This work presents sandwich-structured photothermal graphene oxide (GO)/plasmonic Au nanoparticles (Au NPs) composite coatings on fabrics via a convenient and scalable mixed-dimensional self-assembly strategy. By precisely adjusting the multilayered interfaces between two-dimensional (2D) GO sheets and zero-dimensional (0D) plasmonic Au NPs during the layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly process, broadband light absorption and an efficient solar heating effect in the UV-vis-NIR range were realized. Such designed sandwich-structured GO/Au-coated fabrics exhibited an enhanced synergistic photothermal effect and outstanding multifunctional performances in solar-driven personal thermotherapy, interfacial water evaporation, and thermoelectricity generation. Under 1 kW·m^-2 solar irradiation, the photothermal-coated fabric achieved a favorable temperature increase to approximately 85.9 °C, making it highly suitable for wearable heaters in personal thermotherapy applications in outdoor environments. Furthermore, the sandwich-structured coated fabric displayed a high-efficiency interfacial water evaporation rate of 1.97 kg·m^-2·h^-1 and a photothermal conversion efficiency of 96.7%, benefiting from its abundant porous structure and multilayered interfaces serving as water transport channels. Additionally, when integrated with a semiconductor thermoelectric module, the sandwich-structured coated fabric generated a prominent open-circuit voltage of 54.7 mV and a power density of 144 mW·m^-2, attributed to the temperature gradient and Seebeck effect. Consequently, the sandwich-structured photothermal coated fabrics hold great promise for advancing solar heating textiles and promoting their wide application in the fields of energy, environment, and wearable devices.