This project aims to design bio-inspired water harvesting and collection system to capture water from mists or morning fogs in arid areas, such as the inner Queensland regions, by learning from nature.
This innovative and environmental-friendly approach will solve the water shortage by providing either freshwater supply or irrigation.
Specifically,
- by learning from the desert creative, such as desert beetles or cactus possessing the capability to extract water from humid air or morning fogs into large droplets, bio-inspired superhydrophilic-superhydrophobic switchable thin films for fog/mist harvesting will be designed
- by learning from fish-scales, water low-drag coatings will be designed for rapid water collection.
Investigators
Condensed matter
Predictive materials modelling
