A Nanostructured Moisture‐Absorbing Gel for Fast and Large‐Scale Passive Dehumidification

Abstract

Dehumidification is significant for environmental sustainability and human health. Traditional dehumidification methods involve significant energy consumption and have negative impact on the environment. The core challenge is to expose hygroscopic surfaces to the air, and appropriately store the captured water and avoid surface inactivation. Here, a nanostructured moisture‐absorbing gel (N‐MAG) for passive dehumidification, which consists of a hydrophilic nanocellulose network functionalized by hygroscopic lithium chloride, is reported. The interconnected nanocellulose can transfer the captured water to the internal space of the bulky N‐MAG, eliminating water accumulation near the surfaces and hence enabling high‐rate moisture absorption. The N‐MAG can reduce the relative humidity from 96.7% to 28.7% in 6 h, even if the space is over 2 × 104 times of its own volume. The condensed water can be completely confined in the N‐MAG, overcoming the problem of environmental pollution. This research brings a new perspective for sustainable humidity management without energy consumption and with positive environmental footprint.

Sorbents for Atmospheric Water Harvesting: From Design Principles to Applications

“…High humidity is a serious issue that may influence people's physical and mental health, and provides a suitable environment for the growth of harmful insects and parasites, corrosion of metal equipment, and damage to architecture (Figure 14a). [95] Therefore, developing sorbent materials for Reproduced with permission. [92] Copyright 2015, Elsevier.…”

“…[94] Copyright 2021, Cell Press. [95] Copyright 2022, Wiley-VCH. c) Schematic illustration of a moisture pump with a desiccant and a photothermal layer for efficient sorption/ desorption.…”

“…b) Schematic illustration of the dehumidification by N-MAG for extending fruit storage period. a, b) Reproduced with permission [95]. Copyright 2022, Wiley-VCH.…”

Bio‐inspired Copper Kirigami Motifs Leading to a 2D–3D Switchable Structure for Programmable Fog Harvesting and Water Retention

“…[1,2] However, rapid population growth, extreme climate change, and environmental pollution mean that more than four billion people suffer from severe water scarcity. [3] In response to this water scarcity, various advanced materials and functional devices have been utilized, including those related to water collection (from rainwater, [4] moist air, [5] or water vapor [6] ) and water purification (desalination, [7] filtration, [8][9][10][11] or adsorption [12][13][14] ). Fog flow represents a common water source that contains ≈13 000 trillion liters; thus, it is a promising resource that may help society successfully deal with waterrelated challenges.…”

Eco-Friendly Silica Microcapsules with Improved Fragrance Retention

“…Silica, which is widely used in anticaking agents, abrasives, moisture or oil absorbers, additives, etc., is one of the alternative material candidates [19][20][21][22]. Although the encapsulation of active ingredients using silica has been investigated, further work is needed to understand the mesoporous features of silica, so that its applicability can be extended to other areas such as fragrance microcapsule fabrication [23][24][25].…”