Abstract: Freshwater scarcity, energy shortage, and water pollution are the three most serious threats to sustainable development. Solar interfacial evaporation technologies have shown great potential for harvesting green solar energy for freshwater production, seawater desalination, and wastewater treatment. Chitosan-based solar interfacial evaporators (CS-SIEs) can realize efficient water evaporation due to their unique properties such as lower vaporization enthalpy, salt resistance, antibacterial properties, and thermal insulation. This review paper summarizes four types of CS-SIEs platforms, including hydrogels, aerogels, sponges and membranes (films). Five types of modified materials used in CS-SIEs are emphasized and summarized, including carbonized chitosan, carbonaceous materials, semiconductors, polymeric and multiple materials. In addition, diversified applications of CS-SIEs are highlighted in water evaporation, desalination, and wastewater purification. Finally, challenges and future prospects are presented to reveal bottlenecks in the applications of CS-SIEs for sustainable water and environmental pollution control engineering. This article aims to provide an overview of the latest development in CS-SIEs and inspire further exploration of novel CS-SIEs with higher efficiency and more versatility to address the limitations of their current research and promote their early industrialization.
Keywords: Chitosan; Review; Evaporation; Desalination; Water purification
2025年7月15日，国际TOP期刊《International Journal of Biological Macromolecules》在线发表了题为“Multifunctional and sustainable chitosan-based interfacial materials for effective water evaporation, desalination, and wastewater purification: A review”的综述性论文。根据Web of Science检索，这是国际上首篇全面论述多功能和可持续壳聚糖基界面蒸发材料在废水处理和水净化中应用的综述性论文。本文总结了壳聚糖基太阳能界面蒸发器（CS-SIE）四种类型（水凝胶、气凝胶、海绵和膜）、五种改性材料和在水污染控制中应用。最后，总结了CS-SIEs在际应用中仍面临挑战。《International Journal of Biological Macromolecules》主要聚焦于天然大分子的化学改性及其在生物、环境、制药、食品等领域的工业应用，最新中科院分区：8.50/二区TOP期刊。