Abstract: As global water resources become increasingly scarce, the development of new, highly efficient water-harvesting materials from air is key to addressing water shortages. Wood, as an environmentally friendly material, is considered an ideal substrate for preparing air-water harvesting materials due to its natural porous structure and excellent hygroscopic properties. This study aims to improve the hygroscopic performance of wood through delignification treatment to select the most suitable substrate for air-water harvesting materials. The substrates for air-water harvesting materials were comprehensively analyzed using scanning electron microscopy(SEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR), X-ray diffraction(XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS). The study indicates:ⅰ) The delignified balsa(DWB18h) specimen has the highest water uptake, reaching 1.25 g/g, which is similar to that of the delignified paulownia(DWP12h) specimen. However, the DWP12h specimen has the highest water uptake capacity, at 1.89 g/g, significantly higher than other materials. This suggests that paulownia has advantages in hygroscopic performance and is suitable as a substrate for air-water harvesting materials. ⅱ) Through delignification treatment, the cell wall thickness of paulownia was significantly reduced, while the pore size, pore volume, and specific surface area were significantly increased, providing more binding sites for air-water harvesting materials. At the same time, the treatment effectively removed part of the hemicellulose and lignin, preserving the basic structure of cellulose, which allowed the hydroxyl groups(-OH) in the cellulose to be more extensively exposed, providing more hydrophilic groups. These findings provide a theoretical basis for the development of highly hygroscopic wood-based materials and offer a scientific basis for the selection of substrates for air-water harvesting materials.
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