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. 2023 May 3;123(11):6891–6952. doi: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.3c00159

Table 2. Representative Works on Solar Thermal Water Heating.

category reference photothermal material and device water evaporation rate evaporation efficiency note
nanofluids (428) nanofluid of Au nanoshells   0.24 used for ethanol distillation
  (429) nanofluid of Au nanoshells     used for sterilization
  (218) nanofluid of Au-Ag nanoplates   0.785  
  (430) Au, Ag, and Au-Ag blended nanofluids   0.3097  
  (431) plasmonic nanofluid containing Au nanoparticles 6.27 kg m–2 h–1 under 10 sun irradiation 0.65  
  (432) CuO and antimony-doped tin oxide composite nanofluid   0.925  
  (433) reduced graphene oxide nanofluid   0.9693 exhibit better photothermal conversion efficiencies than the graphene and graphene oxide ones
  (434) carbon black, graphene, and graphitized carbon black nanofluids 10.9 kg m–2 h–1 under 10 sun illumination 0.69  
  (435) nanofluid of Fe3O4@CNTs   0.603 magnetic separation for recycling nanoparticles
carbon-based materials (442) carbon fibers 1.3 kg m–2 h–1 under 1 sun irradiation 0.8 salt-resistant ability based on the Donnan effect
  (443) hierarchical Cu structures with Al2O3 coating and carbon black nanoparticles 1.31 kg m–2 h–1 under 1 sun irradiation 0.8 bioinspired structure
  (444) carbon nanosheets 1.4 kg m–2 h–1 under 1 sun illumination 0.92  
  (445) 3D porous carbon foam 10.9 kg m–2 h–1 under 1 sun irradiation   wind used as an additional energy source
  (312) carbon foam/exfoliated graphite layers 11 kg m–2 h–1 at 10 kW m–2 solar irradiance 0.85  
  (441) contactless solar evaporator with porous reticulated vitreous carbon foam 2.5 L day–1 with daily insolation of 6 kW h m–2 0.25 antifouling and salt-rejecting structure
  (446) CNT membrane 1.32 kg m–2 h–1 under 1 sun illumination 0.82 seawater desalination and wastewater purification
  (447) CNTs/filter paper/cotton thread/polystyrene foam 1.42 kg m–2 h–1 under 1 sun illumination 0.812 isolated salt crystallization
  (448) composite of cotton, cellulose, carbon black nanoparticles, and polystyrene foam 1.77 kg m–2 h–1 at 120 mW cm–2 solar irradiance ∼1 energy gained from the environment
  (314) hollow carbon-nanotube aerogel 3.9186 kg m–2 h–1 under 3 sun illumination 0.868  
  (449) ultrablack carbon aerogel 1.37 kg m–2 h–1 under 1 sun illumination 0.8751 implement CO2 activation to increase the hot-electron effect
  (450) SiC/CNT coating   0.5094 used for anti-icing
  (451) carbon foam deposited with layered BiInSe3 1.1 kg m–2 h–1 under 1 sun illumination   seawater desalination
  (452) polyvinyl alcohol embedded with carbon black nanoparticles on a polyvinylidene fluoride membrane 0.5 kg m–2 h–1 at 700 W m–2 solar irradiance 0.538 saline water desalination
  (453) poly methylmethacrylate coated with carbon black nanoparticles on polyacrylonitrile layer 1.3 kg m–2 h–1 under 1 sun illumination 0.72 seawater desalination with salt-resistant properties
  (454) carbon-black-coated polyvinyl alcohol cloth 1.35 kg m–2 h–1 under 1 sun illumination 0.8475 continuous desalination with salt excretion
  (455) umbrella architecture of carbon-coated fabric 9.05 kg m–2 h–1 under 1 sun illumination with natural wind   self-salt-cleaning
  (456) 3D-printed hydrogel decorated with carbon nanoparticles 4.12 kg m–2 h–1 under 1 sun illumination 0.921 inspired by the transpiration in trees
  (457) aerogel of CNTs and hydroxyapatite nanowires 1.34 kg m–2 h–1 under 1 sun illumination 0.894 wastewater purification
  (458) composite paper of CNTs and hydroxyapatite nanowires 14.31 kg m–2 h–1 under 10 sun illumination 0.928 seawater desalination and wastewater purification
  (459) sponge with polydimethylsiloxane, CNTs, and cellulose nanocrystals 1.35 kg m–2 h–1 under 1 sun illumination 0.874 waste energy-to-electricity conversion by thermoelectric modules
  (437) 3D-printed structure with CNTs, graphene oxide, and nanofibrillated cellulose 1.25 kg m–2 h–1 under 1 sun illumination 0.856  
  (440) monolithic carbon sponge 1.39 kg m–2 h–1 under 1 sun illumination 0.9 electricity generation by water evaporation-induced piezo-pyroelectric response
  (460) hydrogel-coated graphite film 1.01 kg m–2 h–1 under 1 sun illumination 0.627 anticlogging coating prevents salt accumulation
  (461) graphite/nonwoven film on nonwoven-wrapped polystyrene foam 34.8 kg m–2 h–1 at 30 kW m–2 solar irradiance 0.817 simultaneous generation of clean water and electricity
  (439) carbonized mushrooms 1.475 kg m–2 h–1 under 1 sun irradiation 0.78 efficiency of 62% achieved for natural mushrooms
graphene-related materials (462) graphene oxide film 1.45 kg m–2 h–1 under 1 sun irradiation 0.94 solar desalination with four orders of salinity decrement
  (438) graphene oxide 16.1 kg m–2 under 8 h outdoor solar irradiation 0.85 inspired by the natural transpiration process in plants
  (330) graphene sheets 6.25 kg m–2 h–1 under 4 sun illumination 0.942  
  (463) porous graphene 1.5 kg m–2 h–1 under 1 sun illumination 0.8  
  (464) hierarchical graphene 1.4 kg m–2 h–1 at 5 kW m–2 solar irradiance 0.9  
  (320) hydrophilically functionalized graphene 0.47 kg m–2 h–1 under 1 sun illumination 0.48 improved efficiency compared to chemically reduced graphene oxide
  (465) hydrogel embedded with Ti3C2Tx MXene and reduced graphene oxide 3.62 kg m–2 h–1 under 1 sun illumination 0.91 enthalpy of vaporization lowered and Marangoni effect induced
  (466) aerogel made of PPy-coated MnO2 nanowires and reduced graphene oxide 1.587 kg m–2 h–1 under 1 sun illumination 0.938 seawater desalination and wastewater purification
  (467) reduced graphene oxide and silk fabric 1.48 kg m–2 h–1 under 1 sun illumination 1.02 energy gained from the environment
  (468) conic arrays consisting of graphene-wrapped Fe3O4 nanoparticles 5.88 kg m–2 h–1 under 1 sun illumination   reconfigurable and magnetically responsive evaporator
wood materials (469) graphene-oxide-coated wood 14.02 kg m–2 h–1 under 12 sun illumination 0.83  
  (470) flame-treated wood 1.05 kg m–2 h–1 under 1 sun illumination 0.72 water evaporation rate of 3.46 kg m–2 h–1 and efficiency of 0.81 under 3 sun illumination
  (471) PPy-decorated wood 1.014 kg m–2 h–1 under 1 sun illumination 0.725  
  (472) CuFeSe2-nanoparticle-decorated wood 6.6 kg m–2 h–1 under 5 sun illumination 0.862  
modified papers (473) CNT-modified filter paper 1.15 kg m–2 h–1 under 1 sun illumination 0.75 electricity extracted from the evaporation-induced salinity gradient
  (474) PPy-modified paper 2.99 kg m–2 h–1 under 1 sun illumination    
  (262) air-laid paper and Au-nanoparticle-based film 1.71 mg s–1 under 4.5 sun irradiation 0.778  
  (475) Au nanoparticles supported on air-laid paper      
  (476) Fe3O4 nanoparticles on air-laid paper 1.70 kg m–2 h–1 under 1 sun illumination 0.797 adjustable device by magnetic field
  (477) Fe3O4 nanoparticles on air-laid paper 1.3 kg m–2 h–1 under 1 sun illumination 0.8 wastewater purification
cellulose-based materials (33) cellulose membrane deposited with Ti2O3 nanoparticles 5.03 kg m–2 h–1 at 5 kW m–2 solar irradiance 0.92 nearly 100% internal solar-thermal conversion efficiency
  (478) membrane of mixed cellulose ester, ZnO nanorods, and Au nanoparticles 8.7 kg m–2 h–1 under 10 sun illumination    
  (479) cellulose-based fabric/polystyrene 2.5 L m–2 day–1 under 1 sun illumination 0.22 salt rejection
gels (480) bilayered hydrogel 11.33 kg m–2 h–1 under 1 sun illumination    
  (481) 3D-printed hydrogel decorated with Fe3O4 nanoparticles 5.12 kg m–2 h–1 under 1 sun illumination   superior light absorption properties and rapid capillary-driven water transport
  (482) hydrogel made of reduced graphene oxide and Ti3C2Tx MXene 2.09 kg m–2 h–1 under 1 sun illumination 0.935 reduced vaporization enthalpy
  (483) hierarchically nanostructured gel made of polyvinyl alcohol and PPy 3.2 kg m–2 h–1 under 1 sun illumination 0.94 reduced vaporization enthalpy
  (484) plasmonic aerogel based on biofoam and Au nanorods 0.32 mg cm–2 s–1 at a power density of 5.1 W cm–2 0.763  
  (485) bilayer aerogel of MoS2 nanosheets and bacterial nanocellulose 6.15 kg m–2 h–1 at 5.35 kW m–2 solar irradiance 0.81  
membranes (486) microporous membrane deposited with Au nanoparticles 11.8 kg m–2 h–1 under 10 sun irradiation 0.85  
  (295) W18O49 mesocrystals on polytetrafluoroethylene membrane 1.13 kg m–2 h–1 under 1 sun illumination 0.82  
  (263) black Au membrane 18.5 kg m–2 h–1 under 20 sun illumination 0.57  
  (487) PDA/polyethylenimine/PPy@polyamide nanofibrous membrane 1.43 kg m–2 h–1 under 1 sun illumination 0.869 seawater desalination and wastewater purification
  (488) WO2.72/polylactic acid fiber membrane 3.81 kg m–2 h–1 at 0.294 W m–2 solar irradiance 0.8139  
  (489) PDA-coated polyvinylidene fluoride membrane 0.49 kg m–2 h–1 at 0.75 kW m–2 solar irradiance 0.45  
  (490) hybrid membrane of MoS2 nanosheets and single-walled nanotubes 6.6 kg m–2 h–1 at 4 kW m–2 solar irradiance 0.915 seawater desalination
  (491) membrane of PPy-coated stainless steel mesh 0.92 kg m–2 h–1 under 1 sun illumination 0.58 self-healing hydrophobicity
  (133) self-assembly of Al nanoparticles in anodic Al2O3 membrane 5.7 kg m–2 h–1 under 4 sun illumination 0.9 seawater desalination
  (492) polyvinylidene fluoride membrane with Al-Ti-O nanostructures 0.50 kg m–2 h–1 under 1 sun illumination 0.7752 seawater desalination
  (493) Ag-nanoparticle-loaded polyvinylidene fluoride membrane     temperature polarization
  (494) Au@TiO2 nanoparticles on microporous membrane 3.7 kg m–2 h–1 under 5 sun illumination 0.4634 seawater desalination and wastewater purification
other composites (495) composite of polyethylene glycol and poly(acrylamide-co-acrylic acid) copolymer   0.933 higher thermal conductivity than pure polyethylene glycol
  (496) composite sheet of HCuPO and polydimethylsiloxane 1.85 kg m–2 h–1 under 1 sun illumination 0.636 saline water desalination
  (124) nanocomposite of SiO2/Ag@TiO2 5.86 L m–2 h–1 under 7 kW m–2 Xe lamp irradiance N/A seawater catalysis and desalination
  (497) 3D-cup-shaped composite of CuFeMnO4 and silica 2.04 kg m–2 h–1 under 1 sun illumination ∼1 diffuse reflectance reabsorbed and excess energy gained from the surrounding
  (498) cermet-coated copper substrate   0.71 thermal concentration and heat localization
  (499) Janus interface based on copper foil and foam 2.21 kg m–2 h–1 under 1 sun illumination 0.88 water evaporation and solar-thermal conversion separated on the two sides of the film generator
  (500) Al-absorber-based solar water purifier 1.063 kg m–2 h–1 under 1 sun illumination 0.7 minimized optical loss, enhanced heat transfer and condensation
  (265) assembly of Au nanoparticles in disordered nanoporous Al2O3 template 5.5 kg m–2 h–1 under 4 sun illumination 0.9  
  (501) femtosecond-laser-treated Al foil 1.26 kg m–2 h–1 under 1 sun illumination 0.427 wastewater purification
  (502) assembly of Ag nanoparticles in porous Al template 5 kg m–2 h–1 under 4 sun illumination 0.8 wastewater purification
  (503) Au-nanoflower-dispersed in nanoporous silica matrix 1.356 kg m–2 h–1 under 1 sun illumination 0.85 parallel production of fresh water and triboelectricity
  (333) multilayer PPy nanosheets 1.38 kg m–2 h–1 under 1 sun illumination 0.92  
  (282) MoO3-x QDs 4.95 kg m–2 h–1 under 5 sun illumination 0.62  
  (504) poly(vinyl alcohol) network embedded with V-doped MoO3 nanospheres 2.01 kg m–2 h–1 under simulated solar light 0.9344 strong light absorption through heavy V-doping
  (505) polymer film embedded with titanium oxynitride spheres 1.49 kg m–2 h–1 under 1 sun illumination 0.891 seawater desalination
  (506) multistage solar still 5.78 kg m–2 h–1 under 1 sun illumination 3.85 vaporization enthalpy recycled