Shi Ye, Ilic Ognjen, Atwater Harry A, Greer Julia R
Division of Engineering and Applied Science, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA.
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
Nat Commun. 2021 May 14;12(1):2797. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-23174-0.
Solar steam water purification and fog collection are two independent processes that could enable abundant fresh water generation. We developed a hydrogel membrane that contains hierarchical three-dimensional microstructures with high surface area that combines both functions and serves as an all-day fresh water harvester. At night, the hydrogel membrane efficiently captures fog droplets and directionally transports them to a storage vessel. During the daytime, it acts as an interfacial solar steam generator and achieves a high evaporation rate of 3.64 kg m h under 1 sun enabled by improved thermal/vapor flow management. With a homemade rooftop water harvesting system, this hydrogel membrane can produce fresh water with a daily yield of ~34 L m in an outdoor test, which demonstrates its potential for global water scarcity relief.
太阳能蒸汽水净化和雾收集是两个独立的过程，它们能够实现大量淡水的产生。我们开发了一种水凝胶膜，其包含具有高表面积的分级三维微结构，该水凝胶膜结合了这两种功能，并作为全天候淡水收集器。在夜间，水凝胶膜有效地捕获雾滴并将它们定向输送到储存容器中。在白天，它充当界面太阳能蒸汽发生器，通过改进的热/蒸汽流管理，在1个太阳光照强度下实现了3.64 kg m⁻² h⁻¹的高蒸发速率。通过自制的屋顶集水系统，这种水凝胶膜在户外测试中每天可产生约34 L m⁻²的淡水，这证明了其在缓解全球水资源短缺方面的潜力。
