George E. Pake Prize Talk: An Ecosystem Approach to Industrial Physics: Atmospheric Moisture Harvesting Through High Temperature Plasma Surface Modification, A Case Study

The goal of industrial physics is solve problems through promoting elegant highly abstract ideas in research from bench-top conception in laboratories to marketable commercial products. In this paper, we propose a systemic work flow based on a robust ecosystem of university scientists, industrial experts, and engineering teams centered around innovative ideas. The underlying strategy is to effectively incorporate applied research findings into engineering practices and to commercialize the resulting products. This approach has been utilized successfully in twelve high-tech start-ups over the past forty years ranging from time-domain nanosecond laser molecular imagery to quantum computing. As a working example, we present one of our latest venture towards addressing a significant global issue, access to freshwater, via atmospheric moisture harvesting.

Through our ecosystem approach, we have conceived, prototyped, and developed a device harvesting freshwater from the air using a semi-permeable membrane treated with high temperature plasma. This innovative concept relies on growing carbon nanotube (CNT) forests on both sides of a porous substrate through chemical vapor deposition (CVD). One side is functionalized with high temperature plasma by adding hydroxyl groups to the CNTs to render them hydrophilic. This side attracts water vapor molecules and promotes its condensation onto the surface. The other side is treated to become hydrophobic facilitating water extraction and collection from the membrane. The porous substrate acts as a capillary pumping system displacing the condensed water from hydrophilic side to the hydrophobic one.