How does wool turn salt water into fresh water?

Scientists at Cornell University have created a new ultra-black material from ordinary wool. This material can use sunlight to transform salt water into drinking water.

The new method could be useful in areas where the necessary water purification equipment and systems are unavailable.

The idea was also inspired by the deep black color of bird-of-paradise feathers. Scientists attempted to reproduce this color in fabric. To achieve this, they dyed wool with a polymer called polydopamine, designed to resemble melanin found in mussels, and then treated it using plasma technology.

As a result, researchers say they created one of the darkest materials ever developed.

The scientists tested the fabric in a special system that produces steam using solar energy. A part of the material is placed in water. When exposed to sunlight, it heats up, evaporates the upper layer of water, and helps keep the salt behind in the water.

The system was therefore able to operate for 10 hours without salt accumulation.