Solar energy is a major source of renewable energy with the potential to meet the energy demand and to support the sustainable development of the world. The efficient harvesting and conversion of solar energy is one of the key factors to maximize the utilization of solar energy. In general, solar energy can be harnessed and converted into various kinds of energy, including electricity, fuels and thermal energy, through photovoltaic, photochemical and photothermal processes, respectively. Among these technologies, photothermal conversion is a direct conversion process that has attained the highest achievable conversion efficiency. The photothermal effect has been used as a novel strategy to augment vaporization and catalysis performance. In this review, we look into the basis of the photothermal conversion process, the design of efficient photothermal conversion materials in terms of both light harvesting and thermal management, a fundamental understanding of various system schemes, and the recent progress in photothermal evaporation and catalysis applications. This review aims to afford researchers with a better understanding of the photothermal effect and provide a guide for the rational design and development of highly efficient photothermal materials in energy and environmental fields.

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太阳能驱动的光热纳米结构材料的设计以及蒸发和催化应用的先决条件

太阳能是可再生能源的主要来源，具有满足能源需求和支持世界可持续发展的潜力。太阳能的有效收集和转化是最大限度地利用太阳能的关键因素之一。通常，可以分别通过光伏，光化学和光热过程来利用太阳能并将其转化为各种能源，包括电力，燃料和热能。在这些技术中，光热转化是一种直接转化过程，已实现了最高的转化效率。光热效应已被用作增加汽化和催化性能的新策略。在这篇评论中，我们研究了光热转化过程的基础，从光收集和热管理两方面对高效的光热转化材料进行设计，对各种系统方案的基本了解以及光热蒸发和催化应用的最新进展。这篇综述旨在使研究人员更好地了解光热效应，并为合理设计和开发在能源和环境领域的高效光热材料提供指南。