Solar steam generation and photocatalytic degradation have been regarded as the most promising techniques to address clean water scarcity issues. Although enormous efforts have been devoted to exploring high-efficiency clean water generation, many challenges still remain in terms of single decontamination function, relatively low efficiency, and inability to practical application. Herein, we first report the bioinspired fabrication of black titania (BT) nanocomposites with moth-eye-like nanostructures on carbon cloth for solar-driven clean water generation through solar steam generation and photocatalytic degradation. The moth-eye-like BT nanoarrays can largely prolong the effective propagation path of absorbing light and enhance the scattering of light, thereby exhibiting outstanding light absorption of 96% in the full spectrum. Such hierarchical-nanostructured BT nanocomposites not only impressively achieve solar steam efficiency of 94% under a simulated light of 1 kW m–2 but also show the prominent performance of desalination and steam generation in real life condition. In addition, 96% of rhodamine B is degraded using BT nanocomposites as a photocatalyst in 100 min. The moth-eye-like bioinspired designing concept and bifunctional applications in this study may open up a new strategy for maximizing solar energy utilization and clean water generation.

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Conventional desalination technologies play a central role in alleviating the crisis of increasing freshwater shortages, however, impeded by high cost, intensive energy consumption and environmental pollution. Solar-driven interfacial evaporation (SDIE)...

Delivering sufficient water to the evaporation surface/interface is one of the most widely adopted strategies to overcome salt accumulation in solar‐driven interfacial desalination. However, water transport and heat conduction loss are positively correlated, resulting in the trade‐off between thermal localization and salt resistance. Herein, a 3D hydrogel evaporator with vertical radiant vessels is prepared to surmount the long‐standing trade‐off, thereby achieving high‐rate and stable solar desalination of high‐salinity. Experiments and numerical simulations reveal that the unique hierarchical structure, which consists of a large vertical vessel channel, radiant vessels, and porous vessel walls, facilitates strong self‐salt‐discharge and low longitudinal thermal conductivity. With the structure employed, a groundbreaking comprehensive performance, under one sun illumination, of evaporation rate as high as 3.53 kg m−2 h−1, salinity of 20 wt%, and a continuous 8 h evaporation is achieved, which thought to be the best reported result from a salt‐free system. This work showcases the preparation method of a novel hierarchical microstructure, and also provides pivotal insights into the design of next‐generation solar evaporators of high‐efficiency and salt tolerance.

A portable, flexible, and durable reduced graphene oxide–silk fabric (RGO–silk-fabric) is developed for solar steam generation with remarkably high photothermal performances and a stable water output of 1.48 kg m−2 h−1 under one sun irradiation.

Coping with the shortage of fresh water and electricity in off-grid and resource-constrained areas through sustainable strategies has become the most urgent challenge facing the development of human society. Herein, we propose a low-cost and sustainable way of repurposing discarded pomelo peel by converting it into 3D porous carbon foam (i.e., carbonized pomelo peel, referred to as CPP) with multichannel waterways for synergetic coupling of solar-driven interfacial evaporation (SDIE) and low-grade heat-to-electricity generation. The superhydrophilic 3D porous CPP with multichannel waterways utilizes its powerful water supply capability to avoid salt accumulation during continuous seawater desalination. By cautiously weighing the water transport and thermal management of CPP-based evaporators, CPP with three-channel waterways (CPP3) can achieve efficient solar-driven evaporation (the evaporation rate of 1.37 kg m −2 h −1 , one sun) on the premise of salt resistance through its superior light absorption and ultrafast solar-thermal response. Besides, a collaborative device integrating CPP3 and a commercial thermoelectric (TE) generator is designed for synchronous generation of solar steam and thermoelectricity, which can simultaneously achieve an evaporation rate of 1.39 kg m −2 h −1 and a power output of 0.5 W m −2 under one sun illumination. Such a cost-effective and easy-to-manufacture strategy can provide potential opportunities for satisfying the demand for fresh water and electricity in resource-constrained areas.

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