NUS research team invents humidity-sucking gel that may one day replace your aircon

Where can we buy this please?

Jonathan Lim | May 29, 2018, 04:09 PM

Much of the heat discomfort you experience in Singapore is due to humidity. Singapore's relative humidity of 70 to 80 per cent means that sweat does not evaporate off your body quickly - leading to you feeling icky and warm. And the air just feels thicker, doesn't it?

Now, a research team from the National University of Singapore, lead by Assistant Professor Tan Swee Ching from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, has invented a hydrogel that has the ability to absorb moisture at least eight times better than commercial drying agents.

An aircon replacement?

And how will this 'miracle' gel replace expensive air-conditioning?

In case you did not know this, aside from cooling air using refrigerants and pressure, air-conditioners cool the air in your house by dehumidifying it.

"Unlike energy-intensive dehumidifying and air-conditioning systems, this hydrogel does not require electricity to operate. It can be easily coated onto walls, windows and even decorative items (such as a sculpture) to perform the dehumidifying function," Asst Prof Tan said. 

The team claims that the hydrogel extracts water molecules from surrounding air directly, and reduces relative humidity in a confined space from 80 per cent to 60 per cent – within the thermal comfort zone – in less than seven minutes. 

But wait there's more

Aside from just absorbing water up to 2.5 times its weight, this hydrogel has other qualities that may make your home energy-efficient.

For one, the hydrogel becomes opaque after absorbing water. It can reduces infrared transmission by about 50 per cent. The team claims that this would reduce ambient temperature by more than seven degrees Celsius if used as a smart window material to block off the heat from natural sunlight while doubling up as a privacy screen.

The team also discovered that the hydrogel can generate voltage similar to an AA battery and can be used as an emergency power source.

And since this hydrogel is a very effective dehumidifier, you can expect mould to be unable to thrive wherever you apply the hydrogel. No more thirsty hippos in the future?

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Images from NUS

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