biostudies-literatureUnknown4(1)Wilson HMMaximizing evaporation performance is crucial for advancing interfacial steam generation (ISG) systems, yet the potential of Joule heating for this remains underexplored. Here, we present a high-performance interfacial evaporator that leverages Joule heating-based evaporation to achieve very high water evaporation rates. The system integrates thiol-functionalized glassy carbon sponge with ultra-low electrical resistance ( ~ 0.75 Ω) to maximize joule heating. Under 1 sun illumination and a 37 W power input, the evaporator achieves an evaporation rate of ~205 kg m⁻²h⁻¹, reaching surface temperatures of 97 °C at the air-water interface. With 3.5 wt% saltwater, joule heating alone produces 11.86 kg m⁻²h⁻¹ , and combined solar (1sun)-electrothermal heating increases this to ~18 kg m⁻²h⁻¹. This Communications engineering166https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC12475105biostudies-literatureEngineering electrothermally enhanced interfacial evaporation for high-performance solar desalination.PMC12475105Lim HWLee SJWilson HMPandit TPThirugnanasambantham AKA R SRfalseEngineering electrothermally enhanced interfacial evaporation for high-performance solar desalination.Maximizing evaporation performance is crucial for advancing interfacial steam generation (ISG) systems, yet the potential of Joule heating for this remains underexplored. Here, we present a high-performance interfacial evaporator that leverages Joule heating-based evaporation to achieve very high water evaporation rates. The system integrates thiol-functionalized glassy carbon sponge with ultra-low electrical resistance ( ~ 0.75 Ω) to maximize joule heating. Under 1 sun illumination and a 37 W power input, the evaporator achieves an evaporation rate of ~205 kg m⁻²h⁻¹, reaching surface temperatures of 97 °C at the air-water interface. With 3.5 wt% saltwater, joule heating alone produces 11.86 kg m⁻²h⁻¹ , and combined solar (1sun)-electrothermal heating increases this to ~18 kg m⁻²h⁻¹. This 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z2025 Sep2026-06-03T21:43:26.706Z2026-05-02T03:07:56.679ZS-EPMC124751054100677810.1038/s44172-025-00498-z