Bioinspired topological design with unidirectional water transfer for efficient atmospheric water harvesting

Journal article (2023)

Authors

Yiming Bu Deakin University
Xin Li Deakin University
Weiwei Lei Deakin University
H. Su Wuhan Textile University
Hongjun Yang Wuhan Textile University
Weilin Xu Wuhan Textile University
Jingliang Li Deakin University
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Published Date

2023

Language

English

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Abstract

Sorption-based atmospheric water harvesting (SAWH) followed by solar-driven desorption is emerging as a promising energy and cost-effective solution to alleviate the worldwide freshwater scarcity. To achieve efficient atmospheric water harvesting, a SAWH system with low water transfer resistance and high sorption-desorption kinetics that integrates photothermal properties is demanded. Herein, inspired by nature, a sodium alginate (SA)-based SAWH hemisphere with spatially centripetal conical channels loaded with CaCl
2 crystals is designed. The device demonstrates unidirectional water transfer properties and high moisture absorption capacity. To enable solar-driven water desorption, the device is engineered with a photothermal layer by chelation of tannic acid (TA) with Fe
3+. The multifunctional SAWH device with a special channel structure presents a superb water absorption of 0.90-2.29 g g
−1 within a wide range of relative humidity (RH) (40-90%) and a fast solar-driven water desorption rate of 1.77 kg m
−2 h
−1 under one sun illumination. In outdoor tests, 82.3% of the water absorbed overnight could be released during the daytime under natural sunlight, achieving an ultrahigh daily water production of 3.72 L per m
2 that is superior to that of most previously reported all-in-one SAWH systems. This proposed design strategy provides an effective solution for collecting water from the air by SAWH followed by solar-driven water desorption.