Scalable super hygroscopic polymer films for sustainable moisture harvesting in arid environments

Youhong Guo, Weixin Guan, Chuxin Lei, Hengyi Lu, Wen Shi and Guihua Yu ()
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Youhong Guo: The University of Texas at Austin
Weixin Guan: The University of Texas at Austin
Chuxin Lei: The University of Texas at Austin
Hengyi Lu: The University of Texas at Austin
Wen Shi: The University of Texas at Austin
Guihua Yu: The University of Texas at Austin

Nature Communications, 2022, vol. 13, issue 1, 1-7

Abstract: Abstract Extracting ubiquitous atmospheric water is a sustainable strategy to enable decentralized access to safely managed water but remains challenging due to its limited daily water output at low relative humidity (≤30% RH). Here, we report super hygroscopic polymer films (SHPFs) composed of renewable biomasses and hygroscopic salt, exhibiting high water uptake of 0.64–0.96 g g−1 at 15–30% RH. Konjac glucomannan facilitates the highly porous structures with enlarged air-polymer interfaces for active moisture capture and water vapor transport. Thermoresponsive hydroxypropyl cellulose enables phase transition at a low temperature to assist the release of collected water via hydrophobic interactions. With rapid sorption-desorption kinetics, SHPFs operate 14–24 cycles per day in arid environments, equivalent to a water yield of 5.8–13.3 L kg−1. Synthesized via a simple casting method using sustainable raw materials, SHPFs highlight the potential for low-cost and scalable atmospheric water harvesting technology to mitigate the global water crisis.

Date: 2022
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:13:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-022-30505-2

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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-30505-2

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