A solar-driven water cycle
In a bid to address the global challenge of access to safe drinking water, the team, including scientists from five Chinese research institutions, drew inspiration from the natural porosity of wood, enhancing it with smart materials to engineer a device that captures water more efficiently than most existing technologies, all powered solely by sunlight.

“Our team has invented a device comprising wood’s spongy scaffolding, lithium chloride, iron oxide nanoparticles, a carbon nanotube layer and other specialised features,” Hao emphasized, adding that they also used AI to optimize the material’s performance under varying environmental conditions.