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Recent Advances in Fibrous Materials for Interfacial Solar Steam Generation

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Abstract

The scarcity of fresh water resources has become a serious issue hindering the sustainable development of modern civilization. The interfacial solar steam generation (ISSG) system that produces heat on material surface through photothermal conversion for desalination has been demonstrated as a promising candidate for practical application. Fibrous materials with unique flexibility, durability, processability, practicability, and multifunctionality have attracted considerable attention in the ISSG field. In this review, the basics of fibrous materials, such as their classification, manufacturing methods and flexible fibrous structure, are firstly introduced. Afterward, the outstanding properties of fibrous materials on different dimensions are demonstrated, as well as the versatile morphologies and structures that allow fibrous materials to carry out different roles in ISSG. Moreover, the practicability and multifunctionality of fibrous materials are illustrated in detail by combining specific cases to show their promising potential in practical ISSG application. Finally, existing challenges and future opportunities of fibrous material-based ISSG systems are discussed.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful for the funding support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (52173059, U21A2095). The Major Basic Research Project of the Natural Science Foundation of the Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (21KJA540002). The Key Research and Development Program of Hubei Province (2021BAA068).

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  1. Can Ge and Duo Xu contributed equally to this article.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Textile and Clothing Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, China

    Can Ge, Duo Xu, Heng Du, Jingyu Chen, Zhuoer Shen & Jian Fang

  2. State Key Laboratory of New Textile Materials and Advanced Processing Technologies, Wuhan Textile University, Wuhan, 430200, China

    Ze Chen, Weilin Xu & Qian Zhang

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Ge, C., Xu, D., Du, H. et al. Recent Advances in Fibrous Materials for Interfacial Solar Steam Generation. Adv. Fiber Mater. 5, 791–818 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42765-022-00228-6

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