Artificial Trees Inspired by Monstera for Highly Efficient Solar Steam Generation in Both Normal and Weak Light Environments

Abstract Solar steam generation has been extensively studied for its potential application in power generation and water treatment. Although some efficient evaporators have been developed, the challenge of the abrupt drop in the evaporator performance under outdoor environments remains to be overcome. The heteroblasty of Monstera and other climbers allows them to grow rapidly under the extreme shade of a tropical rainforest, inspiring the design of a high‐efficiency evaporator that can function even in weak light environments. Herein, artificial trees that imitate the leaf fenestration of Monstera combined with the Chinese paper cutting technique exhibit the highest evaporation rate of 2.30 kg m −2 h −1 . Moreover, under oblique incidence (from 0° to 75°) and dappled sunlight, the evaporation rates of artificial trees with leaf fenestration are 1.08–1.26 and 1.34–2.78 times those of artificial trees without leaf fenestration and a 2D evaporator, respectively. The excellent performance is attributed to high‐efficiency light absorption, photothermal conversion, high evaporation area, and excellent light and thermal management abilities, which are achieved through leaf fenestration and efficient thermal recovery through multiple reflections of light and thermal radiation between the leaves. The design of the 3D hierarchical structure and leaf fenestration are also applicable for various light absorbents.