© 2019 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim 1903255 (1 of 20) Direct solar steam generation (DSSG) offers a promising, sustainable, and environmentally friendly solution to the energy and water crisis. In the past decades, DSSG has gained tremendous attention due to its potential applications for clean water production, desalination, wastewater treatment, and electric energy harvesting. Even though the solar–thermal conversion efficiency has approached 100% under 1 sun illumination (1 kW m−2) using various photothermal materials and systems, the optimization of the materials and system structure remains unclear because of the lack of evaluation methods in unity for the output efficiency. In this review, a few key concerns about different dimensional materials and systems that determine the characteristics of DSSG are explored. Quantitative analysis, including calculations and methods for the solar–thermal conversion efficiency, evaporation rate, and energy loss, is employed to evaluate the materials and systems from the point of view of ultimate utilization. This article focuses on the relationship between the system dimension and energy efficiency and notes opportunities for future system design and commercialization of DSSG.

Development and Evolution of the System Structure for Highly Efficient Solar Steam Generation from Zero to Three Dimensions

Experimental study on the flow and heat transfer characteristics of nanofluids in double-tube heat exchangers based on thermal efficiency assessment

Photo-thermal conversion properties of hybrid CuO-MWCNT/H2O nanofluids for direct solar thermal energy harvest

A novel thermal efficiency analysis on the thermo-hydraulic performance of nanofluids in an improved heat exchange system under adjustable magnetic field

Influence of triangle tube structure with twisted tape on the thermo-hydraulic performance of nanofluids in heat-exchange system based on thermal and exergy efficiency

Yimin Xuan

Papers

Tunable full-spectrum photo-thermal conversion features of magnetic-plasmonic Fe3O4/TiN nanofluid