Solar powered steam generation is an emerging area in the field of energy harvest and sustainable technologies. The nano-structured photothermal materials are able to harvest energy from the full solar spectrum and convert it to heat with high efficiency. Moreover, the materials and structures for heat management as well as the mass transportation are also brought to the forefront. Several groups have reported their materials and structures as solutions for high performance devices, a few creatively coupled other physical fields with solar energy to achieve even better results. This paper provides a systematic review on the recent developments in photothermal nanomaterial discovery, material selection, structural design and mass/heat management, as well as their applications in seawater desalination and fresh water production from waste water with free solar energy. It also discusses current technical challenges and likely future developments. This article will help to stimulate novel ideas and new designs for the photothermal materials, towards efficient, low cost practical solar-driven clean water production.

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太阳能蒸汽发电是能量收集和可持续技术领域中的一个新兴领域。纳米结构的光热材料能够从整个太阳光谱中收集能量，并将其高效转换为热量。此外，用于热量管理以及大众运输的材料和结构也被带到了最前沿。一些小组报告了他们的材料和结构，作为高性能设备的解决方案，一些小组创造性地将其他物理领域与太阳能结合在一起，以达到更好的效果。本文对光热纳米材料的发现，材料选择，结构设计和质量/热管理的最新进展进行了系统的综述，以及它们在海水淡化和含游离太阳能废水中生产淡水的应用。它还讨论了当前的技术挑战和可能的未来发展。本文将有助于激发光热材料的新颖思想和新设计，以实现高效，低成本的实用太阳能驱动清洁水生产。

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