Research background：
The rapid development of industry has continuously increased the demand for traditional energy sources, and the resulting energy crisis has further exacerbated the problem of global water resource shortage. This is a major challenge faced by the sustainable development of human society. In recent years, seawater desalination, as a mature method of freshwater acquisition, has received widespread attention. Among the numerous emerging desalination methods, solar-driven interface evaporators have achieved rapid development due to their excellent photothermal conversion efficiency, low energy consumption, operational safety, and good ecological compatibility. To convert these advantages into practical applications, it is of great importance to develop an evaporation system capable of delivering efficient evaporation and sustained long-term stability under complex environmental conditions, which is essential for the advancement of interface evaporator technology.

Research Progress:
We developed a strategy for constructing highly efficient anisotropic aerogels for seawater desalination by bridging with polydopamine. Using polydopamine as the "bridge", photothermal performance is enhanced by modifying the MXene nanoparticles, and a covalent cross-linked structure is formed with cellulose to improve the stability of the structure. Inspired by the structure of wood, anisotropic pore channel structures were constructed through the freezing casting method, enabling rapid water transportation. Under standard light conditions, this evaporator achieved an evaporation rate of 2.29 kg.m^-2.h^-1 and a photothermal conversion efficiency of approximately 97.3%. Moreover, during long-term cycling experiments and practical applications, this evaporator maintained excellent evaporation performance and remarkable structural stability.

Future Prospects:
This work has demonstrated the mechanism of photothermal modification and interface bonding by combining experiments and simulations. The integration of biomimetic structure design and interface engineering has laid the foundation for further optimization of the evaporation performance, durability, and multi-functionality of interface evaporators, providing important references for the construction of efficient, low-energy-consuming freshwater acquisition systems, alleviating global water resource pressure, and promoting sustainable development.

The complete study is accessible via DOI:0.34133/research.0888