Abstract:

Solar-powered seawater desalination technology, valued for its renewable nature and zero carbon emissions, is regarded as a crucial approach to alleviating global freshwater scarcity. However, its advancement remains constrained by technical bottlenecks such as low interfacial evaporation efficiency, insufficient operational stability, and limited recovery of vapor latent heat. This article systematically reviewed the mechanism of photothermal conversion (including localized heating via metal plasmonics, non-radiative relaxation in semiconductors, and molecular thermal vibration) and the types of evaporator structures (direct contact and indirect contact). Key optimization strategies were proposed: regulating interfacial mass and heat transfer through biomimetic multilevel micro-nano structures, developing salt self-cleaning mechanisms based on fluid dynamics coupling models to effectively address scaling issues and extend equipment lifespan, and analyzing energy cascade recovery schemes in multi-stage evaporation systems. It was emphasized that multi-stage evaporation systems represented a core pathway to overcoming existing technical limitations, though challenges such as material corrosion resistance and large-scale production costs must be addressed. Finally, future directions were suggested, including further development of composite photothermal materials with spectral selectivity and self-healing capabilities, establishment of dynamic optimization models based on numerical simulations, and enhanced focus on the coupling mechanisms between interfacial evaporation kinetics and system analysis.

Key words: solar interface evaporation, seawater desalination, photothermal conversion, interface regulation, multilevel structure

摘要：

太阳能海水淡化技术凭借其可再生及零碳排放特性，被视为缓解全球淡水短缺问题的重要途径，但其发展仍受界面蒸发效率低下、运行稳定性不足及蒸汽潜热回收率有限等技术瓶颈的制约。系统梳理了光热转换机理（包括金属等离子体局部加热、半导体非辐射弛豫与分子热振动）及蒸发器结构类型（直接接触式与间接接触式），并提出以下核心优化策略：通过仿生多级微纳结构设计，调控界面传质传热过程；基于流体动力学耦合模型开发盐分自清洁机制，有效解决结垢问题并延长设备寿命；分析多级蒸发装置的能量梯级回收方案，指出多级蒸发体系是突破现有技术瓶颈的核心路径，但需攻克材料耐腐蚀性与规模化生产成本的难题。最后，建议未来进一步开发具备光谱选择性及自修复功能的复合光热材料，建立基于数值模拟的动态优化模型，并重点关注界面蒸发动力学与系统分析的耦合机制。

关键词: 太阳能界面蒸发, 海水淡化, 光热转换, 界面调控, 多级结构

CLC Number: 

• P747