Amphiphilic Nanopores: Spontaneous Water Harvesting from Air

In collaboration with Amish Patel’s group (IRG-2), researchers in the previous and current Penn MRSEC discovered that disordered packings of hydrophilic nanoparticles infiltrated with hydrophobic polymers—amphiphilic nanoporous films—can spontaneously condense and exude water droplets from undersaturated vapor under isothermal conditions. This unexpected finding arose while investigating ways to toughen these nanoparticle packings, revealing how the complex pore structure and nanoscale wetting behavior govern capillary condensation and droplet formation. The work advances our understanding of water harvesting and offers promising routes for sustainable water collection and thermal management.