Engineers find the hydrogel polyethylene glycol (PEG) doubles its water absorption as temperatures climb from 25 to 50 C, and could be useful for passive cooling or water harvesting in warm climates.

Every evening during the summer of 2020, Xingyi Zhou went up to the roof of her lab building at the University of Texas at Austin to check on two plastic boxes containing radish plants. Plants in one ...

Researchers have created a superabsorbent hydrogel that can pull moisture from the air in greater quantities than previously reported materials, even in desert conditions. The new material opens the ...

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. (July 13, 2020) – Providing clean water to Soldiers in the field and citizens around the world is essential, and yet one of the world’s greatest challenges. Now a new ...

Scientists unveil a new crystalline material that reversibly changes color from yellow to red when absorbing water, paving the way for chemically sensitive detectors that can work without electricity.

The vast majority of absorbent materials will lose their ability to retain water as temperatures rise. This is why our skin starts to sweat and why plants dry out in the heat. Even materials that are ...