Solar-powered MXene biopolymer aerogels for sorption-based atmospheric water harvesting

Solar energy-powered sorption-based atmospheric water harvesting (AWH) is an innovative approach to acquiring fresh water in water-stressed areas. Here, a method was provided for combining a polyacrylamide/chitosan skeleton and an MXene solar absorber to produce a solar-powered hygroscopic polymer aerogel for atmospheric water harvesting (AWH). Solution exchange and lyophilization were combined in the preparation method. The experiments showed that the porous aerogels enabled high-performance AWH. At 90% relative humidity and 25 °C, the water sorption capacity reached 5.0 g·g−1. At a light intensity of 1 kW·m−2 for 4 h, almost all of the adsorbed water (>98%) was released due to photothermal conversion. The tensile strength exceeded 1.3 MPa. Additionally, the water collection capacity under unstable outdoor conditions was 0.92 L·kg−1 (under unstable natural light (0.11–1.01 kW ·m−2)). This method offers a straightforward, efficient, and useful solution, even under adverse environmental conditions.