Safe and adequate water is a global challenge due to the growing population and pollution in the wake of natural disasters. Access to clean water is a cornerstone for the further development of our modern society. Solar-powered desalination and water purification have attracted much research attention due to the high solar-to-thermal conversion efficiency and ease of implementation in multiple scales, from compact, stand-alone devices for individual households to large, centralized dimensions for communities. Nevertheless, the generation of water vapor at low temperatures below the boiling point is usually a slow process under natural sunlight. The production rate of clean water relies on the efficiencies of solar energy conversion and utilization, which can be enhanced in two directions: systems optimization and materials innovation. Starting from bottom heating and volumetric heating, interfacial evaporation has been adopted recently to systematically reduce energy loss by localizing heat near the evaporation surface using photothermal materials. Meanwhile, carbonaceous materials, narrow bandgap semiconductors, and polymers with different structures were designed to achieve thermal management and water transport.

中文翻译：

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用于高效太阳能淡化和水净化的工程水凝胶

由于自然灾害造成的人口增长和污染，安全和充足的水是一项全球性挑战。获得干净的水是我们现代社会进一步发展的基石。太阳能海水淡化和水净化由于太阳能热转换效率高且易于在多个规模（从用于个人家庭的紧凑型独立设备到用于社区的大型集中式设备）而引起了广泛的研究关注。尽管如此，在低于沸点的低温下水蒸气的产生在自然阳光下通常是一个缓慢的过程。清洁水的生产率依赖于太阳能转换和利用的效率，可以从两个方向进行提升：系统优化和材料创新。从底部加热和体积加热开始，最近采用界面蒸发通过使用光热材料将热量定位在蒸发表面附近来系统地减少能量损失。同时，设计了碳质材料、窄带隙半导体和不同结构的聚合物以实现热管理和水传输。