Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2026 Feb;38(10):e16698.
doi: 10.1002/adma.202516698. Epub 2025 Dec 30.

4D-Printed Dual-Functional Hydrogels Breaking the Trade-Off Between Rapid Kinetics and Ultrahigh Water Uptake for Atmospheric Water Harvesting

Jianyong Yu  1 , Fang Xie  2 , Xiaobo Gong  3 , Dongsheng Chen  4 , Yao Niu  4 , Zhongxin Ping  1 , Meng An  5   6 , Yanju Liu  7   8 , Jinsong Leng  1
Affiliations

4D-Printed Dual-Functional Hydrogels Breaking the Trade-Off Between Rapid Kinetics and Ultrahigh Water Uptake for Atmospheric Water Harvesting

Jianyong Yu et al. Adv Mater. 2026 Feb.

Abstract

Sorption-based Atmospheric Water Harvesting (AWH) is an innovative approach to mitigate global freshwater scarcity. However, there is a trade-off between rapid kinetics and ultrahigh water uptake, which is a formidable challenge in designing sorbent materials. Herein, 4D printed dual-functional hydrogel is constructed through the collaborative design of molecular-scale dynamic response network and macro-scale structure. The 4D dual-functional hydrogel integrates thermoresponsive (PNIPAM) and zwitterionic (PDMPAS) to form dynamic response networks, and is loaded with polypyrrole (PPY) and lithium chloride (4D TZG-PPY-LiCl). Simultaneously, 4D TZG-PPY-LiCl utilizes an abundant air-sorbent interface to accelerate moisture absorption kinetics, exhibiting a large swelling ratio under humidity stimulation to capture more water. The moisture absorption rate and water uptake of 4D TZG-PPY-LiCl are double those of bulk TZG-PPY-LiCl between 30% and 90% RH, exhibiting an ultrahigh water uptake of 1.62-6.85 g g-1, which is superior to that of the state-of-the-art sorbents. In addition, the excellent photothermal conversion of 4D TZG-PPY-LiCl induces a hydrophilic to hydrophobic transition and structural shrinkage under one-sun illumination, facilitating rapid water release. Furthermore, 4D TZG-PPY-LiCl AWH device has been further constructed, enabling continuous freshwater production. This breakthrough provides a new idea for the development of sorbent materials.

Keywords: 4D printed; atmospheric water harvesting; hydrogel; rapid kinetics; ultrahigh water uptake.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. C. He, Z. Liu, J. Wu, et al., “Future Global Urban Water Scarcity and Potential Solutions,” Nature Communications 12 (2021): 4667, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467‐021‐25026‐3.
    1. M. A. Shannon, P. W. Bohn, M. Elimelech, J. G. Georgiadis, B. J. Marĩas, and A. M. Mayes, “Science and Technology for Water Purification in the Coming Decades,” Nature 452 (2008): 301–310, https://doi.org/10.1038/nature06599.
    1. M. M. Mekonnen and A. Y. Hoekstra, “Four Billion People Facing Severe Water Scarcity,” Science Advances 2 (2016): 1500323.
    1. S. A. Kalogirou, “Seawater Desalination Using Renewable Energy Sources,” Progress in Energy and Combustion Science 31 (2005): 242–281, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pecs.2005.03.001.
    1. S. Alnajdi, A. Naderi Beni, A. A. Alsaati, M. Luhar, A. E. Childress, and D. M. Warsinger, “Practical Minimum Energy use of Seawater Reverse Osmosis,” Joule 8 (2024): 3088–3105.

LinkOut - more resources