Light reshapes metal-organic framework to harvest airborne water

Chemists at the University of Iowa have created a three-dimensional lattice that captures water from the air and stores it. In a new study appearing in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, researchers describe a millimeter-scale structure made of metal atoms connected by two types of organic molecules. When exposed to ultraviolet light, the material undergoes a chemical reaction that changes its shape, creating cavities throughout the lattice. Those cavities attract water molecules from the air and store them—like a multitude of tiny canteens.