Project description
Drawing water from thin air
For millions of people, clean water remains out of reach. As climate change worsens droughts, scientists are looking up to the sky for solutions. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the AQUAFRAME project is exploring how to harvest water from air using innovative materials called metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). These sponge-like structures can trap atmospheric moisture, but current versions are energy-hungry and inefficient in harsh climates. AQUAFRAME will design quasiperiodic MOFs (materials with built-in structural disorder that could boost water collection). The project brings together chemistry, physics, and modelling to shape the next generation of water harvesters and offer hope in the face of growing global water scarcity.
Objective
The world stands on the brink of a major water crisis. The distributed capture of water from the atmosphere through sustainable materials is an innovative approach that holds great promise for the mitigation of water insecurity. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), with their unprecedented porosity and chemical tunability, have recently proved to be ideal candidates for real-world atmospheric water harvesting. However, current MOF water harvesters have serious drawbacks, including high energy consumption and low water productivity in non-temperate climates. The AQUAFRAME project aims to develop and thoroughly characterize MOFs with random and correlated disorder (“quasiperiodic MOFs”) to improve the efficiency of the atmospheric water harvesting process. The objectives of the interdisciplinary proposed research are to merge quasiperiodic MOF (a) synthesis, (b) synchrotron X-ray characterization and (c) computational modelling to gain molecular-level insights into the ways disorder influences MOF water uptake, paving the way for the design of next-generation water harvester systems that break current performance records. The project will have scientific, economic and social impact as it is designed to transform the established view of water harvesting MOFs as perfectly ordered materials, and to provide a novel solution to the global challenges related to water scarcity. It will be supervised by eminent scientists including Prof. Omar Yaghi of the University of California at Berkeley, the inventor of MOFs and foremost developer of MOF water harvesting systems. It will incisively contribute to the researcher’s career development by allowing him to acquire interdisciplinary research and transferable skills at Sapienza University of Rome, UC Berkeley, and during a secondment at Columbia University. The project will produce research methods in a cutting-edge field, articles intended to deliver scientific breakthroughs, and dissemination and outreach to key target audiences.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-GF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
00185 Roma
Italy
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.