Eurekalert November 27, 2024
Liquid moisture adsorbents recover water from the atmosphere and used in applications such as atmospheric water harvesting (AWH) and desiccant air conditioning (DAC), allow for flexible device design as well as lower regeneration temperatures. Desorption performance of liquid adsorbents has been less studied. Previously, researchers in Japan combined oligomeric poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and oligomeric poly(propylene glycol) (PPG), resulting in a lowered water desorption temperature and enhanced water desorption efficiency, which was facilitated by a “hydrophilicity-difference-induced water transfer (HWT)” mechanism. Now in their study the researchers investigated PEG-PPG copolymer combinations with PEG for enhancing HWT. The results of water adsorption and desorption experiments revealed that the PEG-PPG copolymer combinations effectively improved the water harvesting rate. The PEG-PPG random copolymer exhibited the highest water harvesting rate. According to the researchers they expect their current work may be applied to various hygroscopic liquids to develop energy-efficient liquid adsorbents for AWH and DAC… read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Graphical abstract. Credit: ACS EST Water 2024, 4, 11, 5169–5177