Solar-driven interfacial evaporation provides a feasible and sustainable way to solve the fresh water shortage using abundant solar energy and has recently attracted considerable attention. However, it has been limited by the evaporation rate and solar-heat conversion efficiency of the current materials. Herein, a novel Ti4O7 membrane with synergetic photothermal and electrothermal effects was developed using a straightforward in situ approach. Based on interface engineering, the interface between the surface of the membrane and water was hydrophobically modified, and a thermal insulation layer was added to the bottom of the membrane. The optimized self-floating membrane with excellent sunlight absorbability and conductivity achieved a remarkably high evaporation rate of 7.51 kg m-2 h-1 with a voltage of 3 V as compensation under one-sun irradiation (1 kW m-2). Moreover, the bilayered membrane displayed efficient salt ion rejection, and the collected water can meet the World Health Organization (WHO) standard required for potable water.
Keywords: interface engineering; nanofibrous membrane; photothermal material; solar-driven evaporator; thermal insulation.