University of Pennsylvania researchers accidentally stumbled onto a novel material that can pull water from the air without requiring external energy.
While testing a mix of hydrophilic nanopores and hydrophobic polymers, they managed to create this new material, which could help improve water collection in arid regions and cool electronics or buildings through evaporation, Interesting Engineering reported.
"In our material, the water moves, first condensing inside the pores, then emerging onto the surface as droplets," said Amish Patel, a chemistry professor in chemical and biomolecular engineering at the school.
He explained that nanoporous materials usually take water into their pores but then keep it locked in place, which made this alternative result so unusual.
"That's never been seen before in a system like this, and at first we doubted our observations," Patel added.
Water typically condenses on surfaces when temperatures drop or there's a lot of humidity. Conventional harvesting methods usually rely on banks of fog to collect water or expend energy to cool surfaces to create condensation, the report explained.
This new material uses capillary condensation, where water vapor is condensed into tiny pores even at low humidity. But it doesn't stay trapped there and instead rises to the surface to create droplets.
To make sure water wasn't just condensing due to some variation in the lab environment, the researchers increased the material's thickness.
"If what we were observing was due to surface condensation alone, the thickness of the material wouldn't change the amount of water present," said Daeyeon Lee, also a professor in CBE, per the report.
Once they noted an increase in the amount of water as the material thickness was increased, the researchers became certain that the water was coming from inside the material and not just condensing on the surface. Plus, the water droplets remained stable for extended periods of time.
TCD Picks » Upway Spotlight
💡Upway makes it easy to find discounts of up to 60% on premium e-bike brands
|
Would you install water-collecting hydropanels on your home?
Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. |
Definitely 👍 After sharing what they described as a seemingly physics-defying material with a collaborator and analyzing the results, it was clear they had struck the perfect balance between water-attracting nanoparticles and water-repelling polyethylene.
The report further explained that surface droplets were connected to hidden reservoirs in the pores below the surface, which were continuously refilled by water pulled from the air, creating a self-sustaining feedback loop.
These findings could help address the problem of water scarcity, which is steadily increasing due to factors such as the changing climate.
Almost half of the world's population could be living in areas of high water stress by 2030, and water scarcity could lead to over 700 million people being displaced from arid or semiarid regions in the same timeframe.
Since this new amphiphilic nanoporous material is made from common polymers and nanoparticles created through standard fabrication processes, it provides simplicity and scalability for large-scale applications.
The film could be integrated into passive water harvesters for dry regions or used in cooling systems for electronics or smart coatings that react to humidity, the report detailed.
"The potential is exciting," Patel concluded in a press statement.
"We're learning from biology, how cells and proteins manage water in complex environments, and applying that to design better materials," he added.
Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the latest innovations improving our lives and shaping our future, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Cool Picks
