Freshwater scarcity is driving demand for desalination technologies that are efficient, low-cost, and reliable beyond the laboratory. A new lotus-root-inspired solar evaporator offers a promising solution by combining rapid water transport, salt resistance, mechanical robustness, and heat-to-electricity conversion in one material platform. The system integrates a polymerized high internal phase emulsion (PolyHIPE) scaffold with a sulfonic hydrogel (SH) network, creating open pathways for vapor e