Interfacial Solar Evaporator - Physical Principles and Fabrication Methods

Production of fresh water based on a renewable energy source is one of the most important global challenges for mankind due to ever-accelerating climate changes. Solar thermal evaporation shows promise for overcoming the water scarcity problem by utilizing solar energy, the most abundant and clean energy source. To enhance the performance of solar evaporators, interfacial solar evaporators have been introduced, which harness solar energy onto the water surface. To enable energy conversion and water evaporation at the interfaces of a solar evaporator, multi-scale heat and water transport have been investigated. Furthermore, various light-absorbing materials and system configurations have been studied to achieve the theoretical maximum performance. The fundamental physics of the interfacial solar evaporator, including thermal and water transport, and a broad range of interfacial solar evaporator devices in terms of the fabrication techniques and its structures are reviewed.