Femtosecond-laser-patterned origami Janus membrane toward enhanced water fog harvesting

Fog harvesting is an effective way to relieve water shortages in arid regions; thus, improving the efficiency of fog harvesting is urgently needed for both academic research and practical applications. Here, we report an origami patterned Janus (O-P-Janus) membrane using laser-ablated copper foams inspired by origami handcraft and traditional Chinese architecture. Compared to the planar fully ablated Janus membrane, our O-P-Janus membrane, with selectively ablated rectangular areas, exhibits an exceptional water collection rate (WCR) of approximately 267%. The underlying physical mechanism of WCR enhancement is revealed and attributed to the enhanced fog adsorbing capacity on the upper superhydrophobic origami structures and the accelerated removal of accumulated droplets beneath the lower superhydrophilic V-shaped tips. This O-P-Janus membrane with excellent fog collection performance should open up a new avenue for both device designs and potential applications toward structuring-enhanced fog collection and microfluidic control platforms.

Automated summary

This study presents an origami-patterned Janus (O-P-Janus) membrane using laser-ablated copper foams, which exhibits a higher water collection rate compared to conventional planar fully ablated Janus membranes. The underlying mechanism of water collection enhancement is revealed, and potential applications are proposed.