Mangifera indica Leaf (MIL) as a Novel Material in Atmospheric Water Collection

Edward Hingha Foday Jr; Bo Bai

doi:10.1021/acsomega.1c07133

Mangifera indica Leaf (MIL) as a Novel Material in Atmospheric Water Collection

ACS Omega. 2022 Mar 28;7(14):11809-11817. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.1c07133. eCollection 2022 Apr 12.

Authors

Edward Hingha Foday Jr^{1

2

3}, Bo Bai^{1

2

4

5}

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Subsurface Hydrology and Ecological Effects in Arid Region of the Ministry of Education, Changan University, Xi'an 710054, Shaanxi, China.
² Department of Environmental Engineering, School of Water and Environment, Changan University, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province 710054, P.R China.
³ Faculty of Education, Eastern Technical University of Sierra Leone, Combema Road, Kenema City 00232, Sierra Leone.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Tibetan Medicine Research, Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining 810008, China.
⁵ Qinghai Provincial Key Laboratory of Tibetan Medicine Research, Xining 810001, P.R. China.

Abstract

Here, Mangifera indica leaves (MILs) have been used to collect atmospheric water for the first time. This novel material has been viewed by mankind as environmental waste and is mostly discarded or incinerated, causing environmental pollution. By turning waste into wealth, MILs have proven resourceful and can help ameliorate the water crisis, especially in tropical countries. The unprecedented water collection result is enough to describe MILs as an ideal material for atmospheric water collection when compared to other natural plants. Both the physical and chemical surface morphologies were extensively characterized. This comparative study shows that MIL surface droplet termination and hydrophilic nature differ from those of other materials, with the apex playing a key role in the roll-off of the droplet. The surface wettability and its interaction with the droplet are of keen interest in this study.