Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Article
  • Published:

Pathogen-free atmospheric water harvesting using a mussel-inspired wet-adhesive photothermal aerogel

Nature Water volume 4, pages 348–359 (2026)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Atmospheric water harvesting (AWH) offers a sustainable route to freshwater production, but ensuring biological safety remains a major challenge due to the potential transport of bacteria during water evaporation. Here we report a scalable mussel-inspired hygroscopic aerogel integrating rapid sorption–desorption, structural stability and photothermal antibacterial activity. The aerogel achieves a higher water uptake of 6.0 g g−1 with an absorption rate of 1.78 g g−1 h−1 at 95% relative humidity, while solar irradiation inactivates more than 90% of bacteria. The collected water is non-cytotoxic and supports in vitro cell growth. Moreover, we developed a solar–wind–electric hybrid AWH device incorporating this aerogel, and feeding the collected water to Sprague Dawley rats caused no tissue damage in vivo, confirming its biological safety. This platform combines efficient water harvesting with pathogen inactivation and biological safety, providing a scalable and versatile approach for safe AWH with potential applications in potable water supply, disaster relief and healthcare in resource-limited settings.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Fig. 1: Comparative evaluation of conventional AWH and mussel-inspired PDA sponge for pathogen-free water harvesting.
Fig. 2: The design and characterization of SA/CB-PDA/LiCl aerogels.
Fig. 3: Water adsorption, desorption and antibacterial performance of SA/CB-PDA/LiCl aerogels.
Fig. 4: The indoor AWH performance of SA/CB-PDA/LiCl aerogels.
Fig. 5: The outdoor AWH test and biocompatibility of SA/CB-PDA/LiCl aerogels.

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

All the data needed to evaluate the conclusions in this study are present within the article and/or its Supplementary Information.

References

  1. Nandakumar, D. K. et al. A super hygroscopic hydrogel for harnessing ambient humidity for energy conservation and harvesting. Energy Environ. Sci. 11, 2179–2187 (2018).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Yang, L. et al. Energy harvesting from atmospheric humidity by a hydrogel-integrated ferroelectric-semiconductor system. Joule 4, 176–188 (2020).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Nandakumar, D. K. et al. Solar energy triggered clean water harvesting from humid air existing above sea surface enabled by a hydrogel with ultrahigh hygroscopicity. Adv. Mater. 31, 1806730 (2019).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Ma, Q. et al. Carbon-based functional materials derived from waste for water remediation and energy storage. Adv. Mater. 29, 1605361 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Harris-Lovett, S. Purified: How recycled sewage is transforming our water. Science 383, 38–38 (2024).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Shannon, M. A. et al. Science and technology for water purification in the coming decades. Nature 452, 301–310 (2008).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Lord, J. et al. Global potential for harvesting drinking water from air using solar energy. Nature 598, 611–617 (2021).

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  8. Kim, H. et al. Water harvesting from air with metal–organic frameworks powered by natural sunlight. Science 356, 430–432 (2017).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Hanikel, N. et al. Evolution of water structures in metal–organic frameworks for improved atmospher-ic water harvesting. Science 374, 454–459 (2021).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Lu, H. et al. Materials engineering for atmospheric water harvesting: Progress and perspectives. Adv. Mater. 34, 2110079 (2022).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Bai, Z., Wang, P., Xu, J., Wang, R. & Li, T. Progress and perspectives of sorption-based atmos-pheric water harvesting for sustainable water generation: materials, devices, and systems. Sci. Bull. 69, 671–687 (2024).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Nemade, B. et al. Iot-based automated system for water-related disease prediction. Sci. Rep. 14, 29483 (2024).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  13. Yilmaz, G. et al. Autonomous atmospheric water seeping MOF matrix. Sci. Adv 6, eabc8605 (2020).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  14. Zhang, L. et al. Hydrogel-embedded vertically aligned metal–organic framework nanosheet mem-brane for efficient water harvesting. Nat. Commun. 15, 9738–9738 (2024).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  15. Kang, M. S. et al. Time-efficient atmospheric water harvesting using fluorophenyl oligomer incorpo-rated MOFs. Nat. Commun. 15, 9793–9793 (2024).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  16. Almassad, H. A., Abaza, R. I., Siwwan, L., Al-Maythalony, B. & Cordova, K. E. Environmentally adaptive MOF-based device enables continuous self-optimizing atmospheric water harvesting. Nat. Commun. 13, 4873 (2022).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  17. Zhong, Y. et al. Bridging materials innovations to sorption-based atmospheric water harvesting de-vices. Nat. Rev. Mater. 9, 681–698 (2024).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Shan, H. et al. All-day multicyclic atmospheric water harvesting enabled by polyelectrolyte hydrogel with hybrid desorption mode. Adv. Mater. 35, 2302038 (2023).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Graeber, G. et al. Extreme water uptake of hygroscopic hydrogels through maximized swelling-induced salt loading. Adv. Mater. 36, 2211783 (2024).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Zhu, P. et al. 3d printed cellulose nanofiber aerogel scaffold with hierarchical porous structures for fast solar-driven atmospheric water harvesting. Adv. Mater. 36, 2306653 (2024).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Zhang, X. et al. Autonomous atmospheric water harvesting over a wide rh range enabled by super hygroscopic composite aerogels. Adv. Mater. 36, 2310219 (2024).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Krysztofik, A. et al. Fast photoactuation and environmental response of humidity-sensitive PDAP-silicon nanocantilevers. Adv. Mater. 36, 2403114 (2024).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Shi, W. et al. Sorbents for atmospheric water harvesting: from design principles to applications. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 134, e202211267 (2022).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Qi, H. et al. An interfacial solar-driven atmospheric water generator based on a liquid sorbent with simultaneous adsorption–desorption. Adv. Mater. 31, 1903378 (2019).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Shan, H. et al. Hygroscopic salt-embedded composite materials for sorption-based atmospheric water harvesting. Nat. Rev. Mater. 9, 699–721 (2024).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Larsson, D. G. J. & Flach, C.-F. Antibiotic resistance in the environment. Nat. Rev. Microbiol. 20, 257–269 (2022).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Li, T. et al. Photothermal-enhanced uranium extraction from seawater: a biomass solar thermal col-lector with 3D ion-transport networks. Adv. Funct. Mater. 33, 2212819 (2023).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Zhang, L. et al. All-day freshwater harvesting enabled by designing benzoxazine molecule with in-trinsic photothermal conversion and radiation cooling ability. Chem. Eng. J. 499, 156318 (2024).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Zhang, M. et al. Antibacterial evaporator based on reduced graphene oxide/polypyrrole aerogel for solar-driven desalination. Nano Res 16, 4219–4224 (2023).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Huang, W. et al. Three-dimensional hierarchical CuxS-based evaporator for high-efficiency multi-functional solar distillation. Nano Energy 69, 104465 (2020).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Lu, H. et al. Tailoring the desorption behavior of hygroscopic gels for atmospheric water harvesting in arid climates. Adv. Mater. 34, 2205344 (2022).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Yu, Z. et al. Phospholipid bilayer inspired sandwich structural nanofibrous membrane for atmospher-ic water harvesting and selective release. Nano Lett 24, 2629–2636 (2024).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Li, Y. et al. Recent advances in carbon-based materials for solar-driven interfacial photothermal conversion water evaporation: Assemblies, structures, applications, and prospective. Carbon. Energy 5, e331 (2023).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Gao, M., Zhu, L., Peh, C. K. & Ho, G. W. Solar absorber material and system designs for photo-thermal water vaporization towards clean water and energy production. Energy Environ. Sci. 12, 841–864 (2019).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Xu, D., Li, Z., Li, L. & Wang, J. Insights into the photothermal conversion of 2D MXene nanomateri-als: synthesis, mechanism, and applications. Adv. Funct. Mater. 30, 2000712 (2020).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  36. Wang, Z., Zou, Y., Li, Y. & Cheng, Y. Metal-containing polydopamine nanomaterials: catalysis, en-ergy, and theranostics. Small 16, 1907042 (2020).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  37. Xu, X. et al. A bioinspired elastic hydrogel for solar-driven water purification. Adv. Mater. 33, 2007833 (2021).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  38. Wang, Z.-Y., Zhu, Y.-J., Chen, Y.-Q., Yu, H.-P. & Xiong, Z.-C. Bioinspired aerogel with vertically ordered channels and low water evaporation enthalpy for high-efficiency salt-rejecting solar seawater desalination and wastewater purification. Small 19, 2206917 (2023).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. Qi, X. et al. Engineering robust ag-decorated polydopamine nano-photothermal platforms to combat bacterial infection and prompt wound healing. Adv. Sci. 9, 2106015 (2022).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  40. Yuan, J. et al. Metal-loaded synthetic melanin via oxidative polymerization of neurotransmitter norepinephrine exhibiting high photothermal conversion. Nano Lett 24, 6353–6361 (2024).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  41. Zhang, Y. et al. Self-sustained programmable hygroelectronic interfaces for humidity-regulated hier-archical information encryption and display. Adv. Mater. 36, 2208081 (2024).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  42. Zou, H. et al. Solar-driven scalable hygroscopic gel for recycling water from passive plant transpira-tion and soil evaporation. Nat. Water 2, 663–673 (2024).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  43. Song, Y. et al. High-yield solar-driven atmospheric water harvesting of metal–organic-framework-derived nanoporous carbon with fast-diffusion water channels. Nat. Nanotechnol. 17, 857–863 (2022).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  44. Zhang, Y. Super hygroscopic nanofibrous membrane-based moisture pump for solar-driven indoor dehumidification. Nat. Commun. 11, 3302 (2020).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  45. Xia, M. et al. Biomimetic hygroscopic fibrous membrane with hierarchically porous structure for rapid atmospheric water harvesting. Adv. Funct. Mater. 33, 2214813 (2023).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  46. Gong, F. et al. Agricultural waste-derived moisture-absorber for all-weather atmospheric water collec-tion and electricity generation. Nano Energy 74, 104922 (2020).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  47. Zhou, H. et al. Solar-driven drum-type atmospheric water harvester based on bio-based gels with fast adsorption/desorption kinetics. Adv. Mater. 36, 2403876 (2024).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  48. Yao, H. et al. Highly efficient clean water production from contaminated air with a wide humidity range. Adv. Mater. 32, 1905875 (2020).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  49. Shan, H. et al. High-yield solar-driven atmospheric water harvesting with ultra-high salt content com-posites encapsulated in porous membrane. Cell Rep. Phys. Sci. 2, 100664 (2021).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  50. Xu, J. et al. Ultrahigh solar-driven atmospheric water production enabled by scalable rapid-cycling water harvester with vertically aligned nanocomposite sorbent. Energy Environ. Sci. 14, 5979–5994 (2021).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  51. Yang, J. et al. A moisture-hungry copper complex harvesting air moisture for potable water and au-tonomous urban agriculture. Adv. Mater. 32, 2002936 (2020).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  52. Xu, J. et al. Efficient solar-driven water harvesting from arid air with metal-organic frameworks modi-fied by hygroscopic salt. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 59, 5202–5210 (2020).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  53. Guo, Y. et al. Scalable super hygroscopic polymer films for sustainable moisture harvesting in arid environments. Nat. Commun. 13, 2761 (2022).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  54. Cai, C. et al. Biomimetic dual absorption–adsorption networked MXene aerogel-pump for integrated water harvesting and power generation system. ACS Nano 18, 4376–4387 (2024).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  55. Li, R., Shi, Y., Wu, M., Hong, S. & Wang, P. Improving atmospheric water production yield: ena-bling multiple water harvesting cycles with nano sorbent. Nano Energy 67, 104255 (2020).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  56. Chen, B. et al. All-natural, eco-friendly composite foam for highly efficient atmospheric water har-vesting. Nano Energy 110, 108371 (2023).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

F.C. acknowledges the financial support from the China Scholarship Council (CSC, 202406120046). H. Li acknowledges the financial support from the Heilongjiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (YQ2024B013) and the China Scholarship Council (CSC, 202308230274). L.Y. acknowledges the financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (52203351) and the Innovation Support Program for Chongqing Overseas Returnees (cx2024069). S.C.T. acknowledges the financial support from the Ministry of Education Academic Research Fund Tier 1 (A-8002144-00-00).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore

    Feng Cheng, Hongbin Li, Zechang Wei, Mengjuan Zhou, Haojie Lu, Qiujian Le, Fei Wang & Swee Ching Tan

  2. School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China

    Feng Cheng

  3. College of Light Industry and Textile, Qiqihar University, Qiqihar, China

    Hongbin Li

  4. Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Green and Low-Carbon Utilization Technology of Agricultural and Forestry Biomass, College of Chemistry and Materials Engineering, Zhejiang Agriculture and Forestry University, Hangzhou, China

    Zechang Wei

  5. Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Technology and System of Ministry of Education, College of Optoelectronic Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China

    Yujie Du & Lin Yang

Authors
  1. Feng Cheng
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Hongbin Li
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Zechang Wei
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Mengjuan Zhou
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Haojie Lu
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Qiujian Le
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Fei Wang
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Yujie Du
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Lin Yang
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  10. Swee Ching Tan
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

F.C.: conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis, writing—original draft. H. Li: conceptualization, methodology formal analysis, writing—original draft, writing—review and editing, funding acquisition. Z.W.: methodology, formal analysis. M.Z.: methodology, formal analysis. H. Lu: methodology, formal analysis. Q.L.: methodology, formal analysis. F.W.: methodology, formal analysis. Y.D.: methodology, formal analysis. L.Y.: supervision, methodology, simulation, writing—review and editing, funding acquisition. S.C.T.: conceptualization, methodology, supervision, writing—review and editing, funding acquisition.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Lin Yang or Swee Ching Tan.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Peer review

Peer review information

Nature Water thanks Defang Ma and the other, anonymous, reviewer(s) for their contribution to the peer review of this work. Peer reviewer reports are available.

Additional information

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary information

Supplementary Information (download PDF )

Supplementary Figs. 1–53 and Table 1.

Peer Review File (download PDF )

Supplementary Data (download XLSX )

Source data for Supplementary Figs. 1–6, 8–17, 19–24, 27, 31–34, 36–41, 47, 48 and 50.

Source data

Source Data Fig. 2 (download XLSX )

Statistical source data.

Source Data Fig. 3 (download XLSX )

Statistical source data.

Source Data Fig. 4 (download XLSX )

Statistical source data.

Source Data Fig. 5 (download XLSX )

Statistical source data.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Cheng, F., Li, H., Wei, Z. et al. Pathogen-free atmospheric water harvesting using a mussel-inspired wet-adhesive photothermal aerogel. Nat Water 4, 348–359 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44221-026-00592-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Version of record:

  • Issue date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44221-026-00592-2

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing