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Summary: Solar steam generation has proven to be a sustainable method to handle water shortage. Various materials for solar steam generation have been introduced in the past few years. However, the utilization of tedious and complicated synthesis to generate a photoactive layer is a matter of concern in the fabrication solar steam generation devices. Thus, improved methods toward cost‐effectiveness by exploring economical materials with simple manufacturing process are urgently and essentially needed. In this study, we first report on manufacturing hybrid membranes using commercially accessible materials, that is, cellulose paper and pencil graphite. The proposed method is to trace and coat a cellulose paper directly with a pencil without the use of solvents and chemicals, and it is possible to create an ecofriendly photoactive layer without a complicated process. The formed pencil graphite‐traced membranes were successfully utilized in solar steam generation and showed excellent steam generation rate of 4.32 kg/m2h which is almost 3.5 times more than that of pristine membrane at solar intensity of 3 Sun. The developed method could be widely utilized in the field of solar steam generation, since it is very facile and simple, and can be integrated to other commonly used materials for solar steam generation such as fabric and wood. In addition, on‐site production is possible, so it has a potential to be utilized in remote and resource‐limited areas for steam generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paper is one of the most widely used materials, due to its application in books, packaging, and office supplies. However, conventional paper has many disadvantages, such as low tensile strength, poor resistance to water and oil contamination, lack of antigraffiti capability, and easily deformed by moisture. Therefore, we proposed a double-layer protective coating that consists of a polyurethane (PU) bottom layer, to enhance tensile strength, and a top polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) composite layer to enable antigraffiti and contamination-resistant capabilities. In the study, a double-layer coating was applied to conventional paper, using a simple two-step spraying method. The results showed that the prepared coating structure exhibited outstanding self-cleaning characteristics with respect to both water and oil contamination and adequately demonstrated antigraffiti capability. Moreover, the coating maintained superhydrophobic and oil-stain resistance after four months of outdoor storage. Finally, the tensile strength of the coated paper was 6.3 times as high as that of the original paper, making this coating structure a promising solution to the problems that limit paper from being more widely utilized in commercial and consumer application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]