High-yield atmospheric water capture via bioinspired material segregation

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Gao, Yiwei; Eason, Areianna; Ricoy, Santiago; Cobb, Addison; Phung, Ryan; Kashani, Amir; Mata, Mario R.; Sahm, Aaron; Ortiz, Nathan; Rao, Sameer; Cho, H. Jeremy
• 署名单位: Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE); University of Nevada Las Vegas; University of Michigan System; University of Michigan; Utah System of Higher Education; University of Utah
• 刊物名称: PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0027-10873
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2321429121
• 发表日期: 2024-10-22
• 关键词: air

摘要

Transforming atmospheric water vapor into liquid form can be a way to supply water to arid regions for uses such as drinking water, thermal management, and hydrogen generation. Many current methods rely on solid sorbents that cycle between capture and release at slow rates. We envision a radically different approach where water is transformed and directly captured into a liquid salt solution that is suitable for subsequent distillation or other processing using existing methods. In contrast to other methods utilizing hydrogels as sorbents, we do not store water within hydrogels-we use them as a transport medium. Inspired by nature, we capture atmospheric water through a hydrogel membrane skin at an extraordinarily high rate of 5.50 kg m-2 d-1 at a low humidity of 35%. and up to 16.9 kg m-2 d-1 at higher humidities. For a drinking-water application, calculated performance of a hypothetical one-square-meter device shows that water could be supplied to two to three people in arid environments. This work is a significant step toward providing new resources and possibilities to water-scarce regions.