Synthesis of composite material HKUST-1/LiCl with high water uptake for water extraction from atmospheric air

As the global water shortage problems become more serious, vigorously developing water extraction from at-mospheric air is significant and broad prospects. In order to improve water vapor uptake, a new type of com-posite material was fabricated by impregnating porous HKUST-1 with the aqueous solution of hygroscopic salt LiCl. The effect of impregnation salt concentration on hygroscopicity of HKUST-1/LiCl was discussed. The crystalline phase and morphology of the composites were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The experimental results indicated that the composites obtained by dipping HKUST-1 with the solution of 20% LiCl, exhibiting excellent adsorption capacities and fast adsorption rates. Its amount adsorbed at 25 degrees C and 50% RH reached 1.09 g/g, which were much higher than the pristine HKUST-1. Additionally, the composite material with a high water uptakes at low relative humidity (25 degrees C, 30% RH, 0.50 g/g) suggested that the compositehad excellent adsorption properties. All the results indicated that the novel composite materialHKUST-1/LiCl are expected to be a promising candidate for water generation from atmospheric air by natural sunlight.