Scalable and efficient solar-driven atmospheric water harvesting enabled by bidirectionally aligned and hierarchically structured nanocomposites

Addressing global water scarcity, this research introduces a facile strategy to synthesize bidirectionally aligned and hierarchically structured nanocomposites (BHNC) for scalable and efficient solar-driven atmospheric water harvesting (SAWH). The BHNC, leveraging ordered hierarchical structures, demonstrates ultrahigh water uptake (6.61 kg_water kg_sorbent⁻¹) and ultrafast sorption kinetics. A prototype SAWH device, using BHNC arrays, achieves high water production (up to 2,820 ml_water kg_sorbent⁻¹ day⁻¹). This work bridges the gap between SAWH materials and devices for scalable, energy-efficient, and all-weather water harvesting.

Tingxian Li, Taisen Yan, Pengfei Wang, Jiaxing Xu, Xiangyan Huo, Zhaoyuan Bai, Wen Shi, Guihua Yu, Ruzhu Wang