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Solar steam generation with thermal localization was recently proposed for highly efficient solar‐thermal desalination. However, to achieve high steam productivity with long term stability remains a critical challenge due to salt accumulation at the evaporation surface. Here, we designed a T‐shaped synthetic tree that could simultaneously achieve high steam productivity and salt collection with the structure characteristics of interfacial thermal evaporation, ambient energy harvesting and edge‐preferential crystallizing. Under 1 sun, the synthetic tree exhibited a steady water evaporation rate of 2.03 kg m−2 hours−1 over 60 hours, achieving solar thermal efficiency of 75%. Salt was continuously rejected at the edge of the evaporator with a steady collection rate of 59.879 g m−2 hours−1, which did not affect water evaporation. This new design principle to simultaneously harvest water and salt provides a new avenue for solar energy utilization.

Solar-driven interfacial evaporation with heat localization is an efficient method for large-scale water purification. However, due to the high latent heat of water evaporation and dilute solar flux (1 kW m–2), the solar steam productivity is low. Here, the latent heat of water evaporation was reduced because of the capillary water state in wood channels. We constructed a wood-based 3D solar evaporator via regulating the hydrophilicity of a surface of burnt wood and adjusting the height of the wood above a water surface. Capillary water was formed in the light absorption layer, resulting in the latent heat decrease from 2444 to 1769 J g–1. A high evaporation rate of 1.93 kg m–2 h–1 under one sun irradiation (1 kW m–2) was achieved. Together with the environmental energy-harvesting ability, the evaporation rate reached 3.91 kg m–2 h–1 (per occupied area), which is among the best values ever reported. More importantly, the 3D solar evaporator works efficiently in a water collection device, yielding 2.2 times more water than that of a common interfacial evaporator.

Trans-differentiation of endothelial cells to myofibroblast contributes to liver fibrosis. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) plays a key role in endothelial-mesenchymal transition (EndMT) although the underlying epigenetic mechanism is unclear. Here we report that endothelial conditional knockout of Brg1, a chromatin remodeling protein, attenuated liver fibrosis in mice. Brg1 deficiency in endothelial cells was paralleled by a decrease in ROS production and blockade of EndMT both in vivo and in vitro. The ability of BRG1 to regulate ROS production and EndMT was abolished by NOX4 depletion or inhibition. Further analysis revealed that BRG1 interacted with SMAD3 and AP-1 to mediate TGF-β induced NOX4 transcription in endothelial cells. Mechanistically, BRG1 recruited various histone modifying enzymes to alter the chromatin structure surrounding the NOX4 locus thereby activating its transcription. In conclusion, our data uncover a novel epigenetic mechanism that links NOX4-dependent ROS production to EndMT and liver fibrosis. Targeting the BRG1-NOX4 axis may yield novel therapeutics against liver fibrosis.