Recent Progress on Solar-Driven Interfacial Evaporation for Resource Recovery and Pollutant Removal

Abstract

Solar-driven interfacial evaporation (SDIE) has emerged as a transformative technology for clean water generation by localizing solar-thermal energy conversion at the air-liquid interface. Beyond water production, recent advancements reveal its potential as a pivotal platform for addressing the challenges in resource reclamation and environmental sustainability. Drawing inspiration from plant transpiration mechanisms, particularly ion-selective absorption, long-distance transport, and bioactive enrichment, this review systematically examines bioinspired SDIE architectures that synergistically integrate membrane separation, adsorption, and photocatalytic processes. The recent progress is summarized across three tiers: 1) structural biomimetics replicating natural plants, 2) functional hybridization coupling complementary purification mechanisms, and 3) hierarchical integration of multi-process cascades. The review highlights the recent progress in material innovation and structure design to expand its function. Furthermore, implementation frameworks addressing interfacial engineering, process optimization, and system durability are proposed to bridge lab-scale prototypes with practical applications. The future prospects are also outlined for multifunctional SDIE technologies to address water-energy-resource interdependency, advancing their role in sustainable environmental management.