Executive Summary : | The global water withdrawal for human activities is around 4,000 trillion litres per annum, but the hydrologic transportation cycle moves over a much larger volume. Molecular materials can serve as effective channels for transforming water vapor into liquid water and utilizing renewable energy efficiently. The proposed materials consist of 10-10,000 atoms in their building blocks, using lessons from atomically precise clusters. These building blocks will be molecular clusters with multiple water harvesting sites through specific ligands or metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), including polymer structures with switchable hydrophilicity during solar irradiation. The structures could also include graphene sheets, fullerenes, molecular cages, and biomolecules for enhanced synergy. The materials will be used to create prototypes of sustainable water harvesters, aiming to deliver water at Rs. 1 per litre with sustainable energy. MOF-based molecular scaffolds will be further functionalized to create nanoporous channels with high charge density for ultrafast ion transport. The resulting ionic currents will be converted to electrical energy by reverse electrodialysis (RED). The proposed materials possess flexibility in their properties, exposing new avenues for scientific explorations and cutting across disciplines. This science represents a collapse of boundaries between disciplines and an emerging frontier in engineered matter, presenting a potentially important area of research with profound impact on science and society. |