Laser ablation of solid targets in the liquid medium can be realized to fabricate nanostructures with various compositions (metals, alloys, oxides, carbides, hydroxides, etc.) and morphologies (nanoparticles, nanocubes, nanorods, nanocomposites, etc.). At the same time, the post laser irradiation of suspended nanomaterials can be applied to further modify their size, shape, and composition. Such fabrication and modification of nanomaterials in liquid based on laser irradiation has become a rapidly growing field. Compared to other, typically chemical, methods, laser ablation/irradiation in liquid (LAL) is a simple and “green” technique that normally operates in water or organic liquids under ambient conditions. Recently, the LAL has been elaborately developed to prepare a series of nanomaterials with special morphologies, microstructures and phases, and to achieve one‐step formation of various functionalized nanostructures in the pursuit of novel properties and applications in optics, display, detection, and biological fields. The formation mechanisms and synthetic strategies based on LAL are systematically analyzed and the reported nanostructures derived from the unique characteristics of LAL are highlighted along with a review of their applications and future challenges.

Solar-based water sanitation is an environmentally friendly process for obtaining clean water that requires efficient light-to-heat-to-vapour generation. Solar-driven interfacial evaporation has potential, but the inability to control interfacial evaporators for solar tracking limits efficiency at large solar zenith angles and when using optical concentration. Furthermore, clogging affects the efficiency of the device. Here, we create a super-wicking and super-light-absorbing (SWSA) aluminium surface for efficient solar-based water sanitation. The measured evaporation rate exceeds that of an ideal device operating at 100% efficiency, which we hypothesize resulted from a reduced enthalpy of vaporization within the microcapillaries. Limited solar absorber-water contact for water transport minimizes heat losses to bulk water and maximizes heat localization at the SWSA surface. The device can be mounted at any angle on a floating platform to optimize incident solar irradiance and can readily be integrated with commercial solar-thermal systems. With a design that is analogous to bifacial photovoltaic solar panels, we show a 150% increase in efficiency compared with a single-sided SWSA. Given the open capillary channels, the device surface can be easily cleaned and reused. Using the SWSA surface to purify contaminated water, we show a decrease in the level of contaminants to well below the WHO and EPA standards for drinkable water.