Nighttime Atmospheric Water Harvesting Enabled by Solar Prestorage Using a Phase-Change Thermal Storage System

Weicheng Chen; Yangxi Liu; Mingyun Luo; Yuxuan Tan; Jinze Yao; Bingzhi Chen; Zhixuan Chen; Muthusankar Ganesan; Xiaolong Zhao; Ci Lin; Tingting Qin; Yutang Fang; Shuangfeng Wang; Wanwan Fu; Bingqiong Tan; Ting Zou; Yanshu Luo; Sai Kishore Ravi; Dennis Y. C. Leung

doi:10.1002/adfm.202516624

Nighttime Atmospheric Water Harvesting Enabled by Solar Prestorage Using a Phase-Change Thermal Storage System

Weicheng Chen, Yangxi Liu, Mingyun Luo, Yuxuan Tan, Jinze Yao, Bingzhi Chen, Zhixuan Chen, Muthusankar Ganesan, Xiaolong Zhao, Ci Lin, Tingting Qin, Yutang Fang, Shuangfeng Wang, Wanwan Fu, Bingqiong Tan, Ting Zou, Yanshu Luo, Sai Kishore Ravi^*, Dennis Y. C. Leung^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

School of Energy and Environment

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal › peer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Atmospheric water harvesting (AWH) offers a promising solution for achieving household water independence in arid regions. However, its efficiency is constrained by the reliance on daylight, limiting daily water yields. To address this challenge, a "nighttime AWH" system that operates without external energy input is proposed. The system leverages a thermal battery composed of composite phase-change materials (CPCMs) with high energy density and photothermal conversion efficiency. During daylight hours, solar energy is stored within the thermal battery, and at night, a sorption layer utilizing MOF-303 is activated for water production. The integrated system, referred to as the water generation unit (WGU), demonstrates rapid desorption due to efficient heat transfer between components. The adsorption-saturated MOF-303 layer releases ≈78% of its adsorbed water within 30 min, resulting in a theoretical nighttime water release as high as 3.8 g_(water) g_(MOF)^-1 day^-1. Thermal imaging and heat-transfer simulations are used to analyze the desorption mechanism and evaluate key operational parameters. This thermal energy storage-integrated AWH system efficiently converts, stores, and releases solar energy, offering a sustainable and reliable solution for nighttime water harvesting in water-scarce regions. © 2025 Wiley-VCH GmbH.

Original language	English
Article number	e16624
Number of pages	9
Journal	Advanced Functional Materials
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202516624
Publication status	Online published - 9 Oct 2025

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51536003), Guangdong Provincial Foundation for Basic and Applied Basic Research (2022A1515110317), the innovatingIIproject of the University of Hong Kong (Grant No. 207300392), City University of Hong Kong (Grant No. 7020100), and National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 22308263).

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 6 Clean Water and Sanitation
SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy
SDG 9 Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities
SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production

Research Keywords

metal-organic framework
nighttime atmospheric water harvesting
solar thermal energy
sustainable use of water resources
urban water
water infrastructure
water sustainability

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Chen, W., Liu, Y., Luo, M., Tan, Y., Yao, J., Chen, B., Chen, Z., Ganesan, M., Zhao, X., Lin, C., Qin, T., Fang, Y., Wang, S., Fu, W., Tan, B., Zou, T., Luo, Y., Ravi, S. K., & Leung, D. Y. C. (2025). Nighttime Atmospheric Water Harvesting Enabled by Solar Prestorage Using a Phase-Change Thermal Storage System. Advanced Functional Materials, Article e16624. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202516624

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title = "Nighttime Atmospheric Water Harvesting Enabled by Solar Prestorage Using a Phase-Change Thermal Storage System",

abstract = "Atmospheric water harvesting (AWH) offers a promising solution for achieving household water independence in arid regions. However, its efficiency is constrained by the reliance on daylight, limiting daily water yields. To address this challenge, a {"}nighttime AWH{"} system that operates without external energy input is proposed. The system leverages a thermal battery composed of composite phase-change materials (CPCMs) with high energy density and photothermal conversion efficiency. During daylight hours, solar energy is stored within the thermal battery, and at night, a sorption layer utilizing MOF-303 is activated for water production. The integrated system, referred to as the water generation unit (WGU), demonstrates rapid desorption due to efficient heat transfer between components. The adsorption-saturated MOF-303 layer releases ≈78% of its adsorbed water within 30 min, resulting in a theoretical nighttime water release as high as 3.8 g(water) g(MOF)-1 day-1. Thermal imaging and heat-transfer simulations are used to analyze the desorption mechanism and evaluate key operational parameters. This thermal energy storage-integrated AWH system efficiently converts, stores, and releases solar energy, offering a sustainable and reliable solution for nighttime water harvesting in water-scarce regions. {\textcopyright} 2025 Wiley-VCH GmbH.",

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author = "Weicheng Chen and Yangxi Liu and Mingyun Luo and Yuxuan Tan and Jinze Yao and Bingzhi Chen and Zhixuan Chen and Muthusankar Ganesan and Xiaolong Zhao and Ci Lin and Tingting Qin and Yutang Fang and Shuangfeng Wang and Wanwan Fu and Bingqiong Tan and Ting Zou and Yanshu Luo and Ravi, {Sai Kishore} and Leung, {Dennis Y. C.}",

year = "2025",

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language = "English",

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T1 - Nighttime Atmospheric Water Harvesting Enabled by Solar Prestorage Using a Phase-Change Thermal Storage System

AU - Chen, Weicheng

AU - Liu, Yangxi

AU - Luo, Mingyun

AU - Tan, Yuxuan

AU - Yao, Jinze

AU - Chen, Bingzhi

AU - Chen, Zhixuan

AU - Ganesan, Muthusankar

AU - Zhao, Xiaolong

AU - Lin, Ci

AU - Qin, Tingting

AU - Fang, Yutang

AU - Wang, Shuangfeng

AU - Fu, Wanwan

AU - Tan, Bingqiong

AU - Zou, Ting

AU - Luo, Yanshu

AU - Ravi, Sai Kishore

AU - Leung, Dennis Y. C.

PY - 2025/10/9

Y1 - 2025/10/9

N2 - Atmospheric water harvesting (AWH) offers a promising solution for achieving household water independence in arid regions. However, its efficiency is constrained by the reliance on daylight, limiting daily water yields. To address this challenge, a "nighttime AWH" system that operates without external energy input is proposed. The system leverages a thermal battery composed of composite phase-change materials (CPCMs) with high energy density and photothermal conversion efficiency. During daylight hours, solar energy is stored within the thermal battery, and at night, a sorption layer utilizing MOF-303 is activated for water production. The integrated system, referred to as the water generation unit (WGU), demonstrates rapid desorption due to efficient heat transfer between components. The adsorption-saturated MOF-303 layer releases ≈78% of its adsorbed water within 30 min, resulting in a theoretical nighttime water release as high as 3.8 g(water) g(MOF)-1 day-1. Thermal imaging and heat-transfer simulations are used to analyze the desorption mechanism and evaluate key operational parameters. This thermal energy storage-integrated AWH system efficiently converts, stores, and releases solar energy, offering a sustainable and reliable solution for nighttime water harvesting in water-scarce regions. © 2025 Wiley-VCH GmbH.

AB - Atmospheric water harvesting (AWH) offers a promising solution for achieving household water independence in arid regions. However, its efficiency is constrained by the reliance on daylight, limiting daily water yields. To address this challenge, a "nighttime AWH" system that operates without external energy input is proposed. The system leverages a thermal battery composed of composite phase-change materials (CPCMs) with high energy density and photothermal conversion efficiency. During daylight hours, solar energy is stored within the thermal battery, and at night, a sorption layer utilizing MOF-303 is activated for water production. The integrated system, referred to as the water generation unit (WGU), demonstrates rapid desorption due to efficient heat transfer between components. The adsorption-saturated MOF-303 layer releases ≈78% of its adsorbed water within 30 min, resulting in a theoretical nighttime water release as high as 3.8 g(water) g(MOF)-1 day-1. Thermal imaging and heat-transfer simulations are used to analyze the desorption mechanism and evaluate key operational parameters. This thermal energy storage-integrated AWH system efficiently converts, stores, and releases solar energy, offering a sustainable and reliable solution for nighttime water harvesting in water-scarce regions. © 2025 Wiley-VCH GmbH.

KW - metal-organic framework

KW - nighttime atmospheric water harvesting

KW - solar thermal energy

KW - sustainable use of water resources

KW - urban water

KW - water infrastructure

KW - water sustainability

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DO - 10.1002/adfm.202516624

M3 - RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal

SN - 1616-301X

JO - Advanced Functional Materials

JF - Advanced Functional Materials

M1 - e16624

ER -

Nighttime Atmospheric Water Harvesting Enabled by Solar Prestorage Using a Phase-Change Thermal Storage System

Abstract

Funding

UN SDGs

Research Keywords

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