Energy and clean water are two intertwined fundamental elements for human civilization and sustainable development. Here, we devise a monolithic tandem solar electricity-water generator that synergistically produces electricity and clean water by utilizing the full spectrum of solar irradiance. The tandem generator has two components: a top infrared-transparent photovoltaic device using above-band-gap photons, and a bottom solar water purifier using the below-band-gap photons. More strikingly, a well-designed water-proof thermal interconnecting layer (WTIL) makes these two components work synergistically: the bottom purifier serves as an evaporative cooler of the top solar cell to increase its efficiency, whereas the thermalization energy of the top cell is reutilized by the bottom purifier for producing more clean water. We experimentally demonstrate that a prototype hybrid tandem solar device with WTIL can generate electricity with a power output of 204 W m⁻² and purify water at a rate of 0.80 kg m⁻² h⁻¹ under 1-sun illumination.

能源和清洁水是人类文明与可持续发展的两个基本要素。在这里，我们设计了一种整体式串联太阳能电-水发生器，该发生器通过利用整个太阳辐照度协同产生电力和清洁水。串联发生器具有两个组件：使用带隙以上光子的顶部红外透明光伏设备，以及使用带隙以下光子的底部太阳能净水器。更引人注目的是，精心设计的防水热互连层（WTIL）使这两个组件协同工作：底部净化器用作顶部太阳能电池的蒸发冷却器，以提高其效率，而顶部电池的热能为底部净化器可再利用以产生更多的净水。^-2并在1阳光下以0.80 kg m ^-2 h ^-1的速率净化水。