<p>Utilizing solar
energy to generate clean water by interface solar steam generation is
considered to be a promising strategy to address the challenge of <a></a><a>water
shortage globally.</a> However, <a></a><a>high evaporation rate and
long-term sustainability have rarely been achieved simultaneously</a>,
due to salt accumulation, discontinuous water supply and insufficient
photothermal conversion. Herein, we demonstrate that a three-dimensional nanofibrous
aerogel (3D NA) with Janus layers enables floating on the surface water by
hydrophobic layer and continues pumping water by hydrophilic layer and
interconnected porous structure. <a>More notably, an </a><a></a><a>aggregation-induced emission (AIE)</a> photothermal molecule is doped into
nanofibers for the first time, which was endowed with superior capacity of transferring
solar energy into heat. Combining these unique benefits, the presented 3D NA
exhibits extremely high evaporation rate (1.99 kg m<sup>-2</sup> h<sup>-1</sup>)
and solar-to-vapor conversion efficiency (89%) under irradiation of 1 sun.
Besides, there is no significant change in evaporation performance after 21 cycles
in the case of seawater treatment, suggesting that the designed 3D NA possess
sustainable stability and self-cleaning function to restrain salt deposition. With
highly efficient evaporation rate and long-term sustainable solar steam
generation, such 3D NA can offer new strategy for desalination and sewage
treatment. </p>
Microbial rhodopsins are major contributors to the solar energy captured in the sea
