Solar‐Driven Atmospheric Water Production Through Hierarchically Ordered Porous Carbon for Self‐Sustaining Green Hydrogen Production
Green hydrogen production by proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE) powered by clean energy is a promising and environmentally friendly technology. However, it relies on a high-purity water source, which is limited in regions facing water scarcity. Here, a coupled self-sustaining solar-enabled system is reported that couples atmospheric water harvesting with PEM water electrolysis (AWH-PEMWE), offering a novel pathway for clean water generation and green hydrogen production. The atmospheric water harvester (AWH) component utilizes N and O co-doped hydrophilic ordered porous carbon, engineered with an interconnected hierarchical porous structure with prosperous channels for efficient mass transport. It enables effective interfacial solar evaporation for water release, achieving a record-high water harvesting capacity of 0.49 L kg<sup>-1</sup> h<sup>-1</sup> at 40% relative humidity (RH). During outdoor tests, the AWH-PEMWE system reaches a peak green hydrogen production rate of 204 mL h<sup>-1</sup> at midday using only atmospheric water as feedstock. Remarkably, the system remains operational under ultra-low humidity conditions down to 20% RH, addressing the challenge of water availability in arid environments. Importantly, the system operates without the need for carrier gases or external energy input accessories, enabling a fully solar-driven process with zero carbon emission throughout the hydrogen production cycle.
Authors
- Huajie Yin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9036-9084)
- Kaidi Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1453-0681)
- Jian Kang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4772-6311)
- Zhengju Zhu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5127-9414)
- Zeyang Zhao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7633-335X)
- Zheng Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2704-0355)
- Jiapeng Ji (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4270-8106)
- Porun Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0046-701X)
- Huijun Zhao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3028-0459)
- Paul J. Michalski (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-8836-3454)
- Bo Fu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3597-1504)
- Shan Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5500-7208)
- Haolan Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9126-1593)
- Jifang Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1843-4686)
- Xinyu Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7350-423X)
- Yiming Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4775-848X)
- Neil Robinson
- Xinyuan Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5900-2719)
- Mengyang Dong
Institutions
- Griffith University (AU)
- Queen's University Belfast (GB)
- Queensland Health (AU)
- East China University of Science and Technology (CN)
- The University of Queensland (AU)
- University of South Australia (AU)
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (CN)
- Nanomaterials Research (United States) (US)
- Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology (CN)
- Institute of Solid State Physics (CN)
- Monash University (AU)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Advanced Materials
- Published
- 2025-08-19
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202511336
- Citations
- 5
- Primary Topic
- Solar-Powered Water Purification Methods
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.82
Funders
- Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation
- Australian Synchrotron
- University of Queensland
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Australian Research Council
- Hefei Science Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences