Hydrogel-embedded vertically aligned metal-organic framework nanosheet membrane for efficient water harvesting.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 39528471.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-024-54215-z and PMC identifier 11555079.
- 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
Highly porous metal-organic framework (MOF) nanosheets have shown promising potential for efficient water sorption kinetics in atmospheric water harvesting (AWH) systems. However, the water uptake of single-component MOF absorbents remains limited due to their low water retention. To overcome this limitation, we present a strategy for fabricating vertically aligned MOF nanosheets on hydrogel membrane substrates (MOF-CT/PVA) to achieve ultrafast AWH with high water uptake. By employing directional growth of MOF nanosheets, we successfully create superhydrophilic MOF coating layer and pore channels for efficient water transportation to the crosslinked flexible hydrogel membrane. The designed composite water harvester exhibits ultrafast sorption kinetics, achieving 91.4% saturation within 15 min. Moreover, MOF-CT/PVA exhibits superior solar-driven water capture-release capacity even after 10 cycles of reuse. This construction approach significantly enhances the water vapor adsorption, offering a potential solution for the design of composite MOF-membrane harvesters to mitigate the freshwater crisis.