Photothermal fabrics for solar-driven seawater desalination

Solar-driven seawater desalination has received massive attention as it holds great promise to solve the worldwide freshwater and energy issues. The key of this technology relies on the exploitation of broad-spectrum solar absorbers and the construction of evaporators with high-efficient thermal management. Among all the available solar absorbers, photothermal fabrics stand out with conspicuous properties, such as rich source, low cost, large specific surface area, wide versatility, high structure tunability and excellent flexibility. This review aims to summarize the recent advancement in the fabrication strategies of photothermal fabrics, including surface modification, high-temperature carbonization, electrospinning, blowspinning, and weaving. The design of superstructural photothermal fabrics is also discussed in relation to the wide-spectral photoabsorption and directional moisture transport. The construction of solar evaporators with photothermal fabrics are also highlighted, including floating evaporator, reversible evaporator, three-dimensional isolated evaporator, hanging evaporator, heliotropic evaporator; which focus on their structure–function relationships on light absorption enhancement, heat loss reduction, salt-crystallization resistance, etc. At last, this review provides a detailed introduction and outlook on the transference applications of solar-driven seawater evaporation in catalysis, electric energy generation, and saline soil remediation, aiming to address the potential solution to the interconnected challenges of freshwater scarcity, energy deficits, and environmental pollution.