Solar steam generation (SSG) based on the photothermal effect has been considered to be a promising avenue for freshwater production. However, the fabrication of highly‐efficient photothermal layers, at large‐scale and low‐cost is still a challenge, hindering practical applications. Herein, it is demonstrated that carbonized towel‐gourd sponges (CTGS) are excellent photothermal materials. And a capillarity‐driven interfacial self‐coating method is developed to prepare the super‐hydrophilic CTGS/paper photothermal layer. The SSG device based on the CTGS/paper exhibits a high evaporation rate of 1.53 kg m⁻² h⁻¹ with an efficiency of 95.9% under 1 sun irradiation. The high evaporation rate only slightly reduces when confronting the diverse and complex practical SSG conditions, such as seawater and waste water. Moreover, CTGS/paper has the advantages of simple preparation, recyclablability, low‐cost (≈4 $ per m²), high‐efficiency, flexibility, and scalability, which are the important prerequisites for promoting SSG techniques for industrialization and practical applications. In addition, the versatile energy conversion ability of the CTGS/paper is also demonstrated. Assisted by the photothermal effect of CTGS/paper, solar energy is converted to mechanical energy and electricity.

中文翻译：

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低成本，可扩展且可重复使用的光热层，可高效产生太阳能并实现多种能源转换

基于光热效应的太阳能蒸汽发电（SSG）被认为是淡水生产的有希望的途径。然而，以大规模和低成本制造高效的光热层仍然是一个挑战，阻碍了实际应用。本文证明碳化毛巾海绵（CTGS）是出色的光热材料。并开发了一种由毛细作用驱动的界面自涂方法来制备超亲水CTGS /纸光热层。基于CTGS /纸的SSG设备显示出1.53 kg m ^-2 h ^-1的高蒸发速率1次阳光照射下的效率为95.9％。面对海水和废水等各种复杂的实际SSG条件时，高蒸发率只会稍微降低。此外，CTGS /纸具有制备简单，可回收利用，成本低（约每平方米⁴美元），高效，灵活和可扩展的优点，这是在工业化和实际应用中推广SSG技术的重要前提。此外，还展示了CTGS /纸的多功能能量转换能力。在CTGS /纸的光热效应的辅助下，太阳能转化为机械能和电能。