Super hygroscopic nanofibrous membrane-based moisture pump for solar-driven indoor dehumidification.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 32620818.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-020-17118-3 and PMC identifier 7335200.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Desiccants play vital roles in dehumidification and atmospheric water harvesting; however, current desiccants have mediocre hygroscopicity, limited recyclability, and high energy consumption. Herein, we report a wood-inspired moisture pump based on electrospun nanofibrous membrane for solar-driven continuous indoor dehumidification. The developed moisture pump with multilayer wood-like cellular networks and interconnected open channels is composed of a desiccant layer and a photothermal layer. The desiccant layer exhibits an unprecedented moisture absorption capacity of 3.01 g g<sup>-1</sup> at 90% relative humidity (RH), fast moisture absorption and transport rates, enabling atmospheric water harvesting. The photothermal layer shows a high solar absorption of 93%, efficient solar thermal conversion, and good moisture permeability, thus promoting water evaporation. The moisture pump efficiently reduces the indoor relative humidity to a comfort level (40‒60% RH) under one-sun illumination. This work opens the way to develop new-generation, high-performance nanofibrous membrane-based desiccants for energy-efficient humidity control and atmospheric water harvesting.