Dual-phase molybdenum nitride nanorambutans for solar steam generation under one sun illumination

Water evaporation and steam production have been recognized to be considerably crucial due to the vast applications, ranging from waste water treatment, water purification, to alternative green energy solutions by water splitting, catalysis, and in-door heating. Albeit the big variety of photothermal conversion materials (PCMs) developed for this purpose, certain drawbacks, e.g. high cost, complicated synthesis, weak/narrow absorbance, bulkiness, and low evaporation rate, have hindered the application potential. Herein, we report the dual-phase molybdenum nitride nanorambutans, synthesized by a facile method, for solar steam generation. Not only the inherent properties, including strong full-spectrum absorbance, high-efficiency photothermal conversion, and super-hydrophilicity, benefit their water evaporation performance, the interconnected open mesopores of the nanorambutans further boost their capability of light harvesting and water/vapor transportation. Solar energy conversion efficiency of ∼97% under one sun together with excellent cycling stability has been demonstrated. In the desalination systems, integrating with the high salt rejection rate, the nanorambutans film can produce a water evaporation rate as high as ∼1.70 kg m−2 h−1 with an efficiency of ∼98%. Besides its compact size, the record-breaking water evaporation performance of these nanorambutans has exceeded the previous best inorganic PCM. This work introduces molybdenum nitride as a new PCM for efficient solar steam generation and all applications that can benefit from highly localized heating from nano to macro scale.