ZrO2 nanofibers/activated carbon composite as a novel and effective electrode material for the enhancement of capacitive deionization performance

Among the various forms of carbon materials, activated carbon still possesses the maximum attention as an optimum commercially available, cheap, and effective electrode material for the capacitive deionization desalination process. However, the well-known hydrophobicity and low specific capacitance limit its wide application. In this study, incorporation of zirconia nanofibers with activated carbon is reported as an effective and simple strategy to overcome the abovementioned problems. Typically, zirconia nanofibers, which were synthesized by the calcination of electrospun nanofiber mats, were added to the activated carbon to fabricate novel electrodes for the capacitive deionization units. In a single-mode cell, it was observed that the addition of the proposed metal oxide nanofibers distinctly enhanced the desalination process as the electrosorption capacity and the salt removal efficiency improved from 5.42 to 16.35 mg g−1 and from 16.37% to 53.26% for the pristine and composite electrodes, respectively. However, the inorganic nanofiber content should be optimized; a composite having 10 wt% zirconia nanofibers with respect to the activated carbon showed the best performance. This distinct enhancement in the performance is attributed to the improvement in the wettability and specific capacitance of the electrode. Numerically, the water contact angle and the specific capacitance of the pristine and composite electrodes were found to be 145° and 26.5°, and 875 and 225 F g−1, respectively. Overall, the present study strongly draws attention towards zirconia nanostructures as effective, cheap, environmentally friendly, and biologically safe candidates to enhance the performance of capacitive deionization electrodes.

[1]  Linda Zou,et al.  Ordered mesoporous carbons synthesized by a modified sol-gel process for electrosorptive removal of sodium chloride , 2009 .

[2]  Chao Pan,et al.  Hierarchical activated carbon nanofiber webs with tuned structure fabricated by electrospinning for capacitive deionization , 2012 .

[3]  Linda Zou,et al.  Using mesoporous carbon electrodes for brackish water desalination. , 2008, Water research.

[4]  K. Y. Foo,et al.  A short review of activated carbon assisted electrosorption process: an overview, current stage and future prospects. , 2009, Journal of hazardous materials.

[5]  Muzafar A. Kanjwal,et al.  CoNi Bimetallic Nanofibers by Electrospinning: Nickel-Based Soft Magnetic Material with Improved Magnetic Properties , 2010 .

[6]  Yong Liu,et al.  Reduced graphene oxide and activated carbon composites for capacitive deionization , 2012 .

[7]  Khalil Abdelrazek Khalil,et al.  TiO2 nanorod-intercalated reduced graphene oxide as high performance electrode material for membrane capacitive deionization , 2015 .

[8]  Chen-Chi M. Ma,et al.  Microwave-assisted ionothermal synthesis of nanostructured anatase titanium dioxide/activated carbon composite as electrode material for capacitive deionization , 2013 .

[9]  Nidal Hilal,et al.  Application of Capacitive Deionisation in water desalination: A review , 2014 .

[10]  E. Wang,et al.  Nanostructured materials for water desalination , 2011, Nanotechnology.

[11]  J. Dutta,et al.  Improved desalination by zinc oxide nanorod induced electric field enhancement in capacitive deionization of brackish water , 2015 .

[12]  Costas Tsouris,et al.  Electrosorption of ions from aqueous solutions by nanostructured carbon aerogel. , 2002, Journal of colloid and interface science.

[13]  N. Barakat,et al.  Production of Smooth and Pure Nickel Metal Nanofibers by the Electrospinning Technique: Nanofibers Possess Splendid Magnetic Properties , 2009 .

[14]  Jae-Hwan Choi,et al.  Improvement of desalination efficiency in capacitive deionization using a carbon electrode coated with an ion-exchange polymer. , 2010, Water research.

[15]  Liyi Shi,et al.  Enhanced capacitive deionization of graphene/mesoporous carbon composites. , 2012, Nanoscale.

[16]  Gang Wang,et al.  Activated carbon nanofiber webs made by electrospinning for capacitive deionization , 2012 .

[17]  Linda Zou,et al.  Polyaniline-modified activated carbon electrodes for capacitive deionisation , 2014 .

[18]  Zhiyong Tang,et al.  Three‐Dimensional Graphene/Metal Oxide Nanoparticle Hybrids for High‐Performance Capacitive Deionization of Saline Water , 2013, Advanced materials.

[19]  Liyi Shi,et al.  Three-dimensional graphene-based hierarchically porous carbon composites prepared by a dual-template strategy for capacitive deionization , 2013 .

[20]  Zhuo Sun,et al.  A comparative study on electrosorptive behavior of carbon nanotubes and graphene for capacitive deionization , 2011 .

[21]  Linda Zou,et al.  Novel graphene-like electrodes for capacitive deionization. , 2010, Environmental science & technology.

[22]  M. Khil,et al.  Synthesis and Optical Properties of Two Cobalt Oxides (CoO and Co3O4) Nanofibers Produced by Electrospinning Process , 2008 .

[23]  Choonsoo Kim,et al.  TiO2 sol–gel spray method for carbon electrode fabrication to enhance desalination efficiency of capacitive deionization , 2014 .

[24]  A. B. Haan,et al.  Capacitive deionization for water treatment: Screening of key performance parameters and comparison of performance for different ions , 2013 .

[25]  Hsisheng Teng,et al.  Influence of oxygen treatment on electric double-layer capacitance of activated carbon fabrics , 2002 .

[26]  Guangmin Zhou,et al.  Graphene/metal oxide composite electrode materials for energy storage , 2012 .

[27]  Tingting Yan,et al.  Comparative Electroadsorption Study of Mesoporous Carbon Electrodes with Various Pore Structures , 2011 .

[28]  Gang Wang,et al.  Asymmetric capacitive deionization utilizing nitric acid treated activated carbon fiber as the cathode , 2015 .

[29]  S. Prabaharan,et al.  Nanostructured mesoporous carbon as electrodes for supercapacitors , 2006 .

[30]  Wantai Yang,et al.  High performance nitrogen-doped porous graphene/carbon frameworks for supercapacitors , 2014 .

[31]  Muzafar A. Kanjwal,et al.  Polymeric nanofibers containing solid nanoparticles prepared by electrospinning and their applications , 2010 .

[32]  Jae-Hwan Choi,et al.  Enhanced desalination efficiency in capacitive deionization with an ion-selective membrane , 2010 .

[33]  Hardcover,et al.  Carbon: Electrochemical and Physicochemical Properties , 1988 .

[34]  Muzafar A. Kanjwal,et al.  Influence of temperature on the photodegradation process using Ag-doped TiO2 nanostructures: Negative impact with the nanofibers , 2013 .

[35]  Gang Wang,et al.  Surface-treated carbon electrodes with modified potential of zero charge for capacitive deionization. , 2016, Water research.

[36]  Ke-ning Sun,et al.  Sponge‐Templated Preparation of High Surface Area Graphene with Ultrahigh Capacitive Deionization Performance , 2014 .

[37]  L. Pan,et al.  Carbon aerogels electrode with reduced graphene oxide additive for capacitive deionization with enhanced performance , 2014 .

[38]  Jae-Hwan Choi,et al.  Electrode reactions and adsorption/desorption performance related to the applied potential in a capacitive deionization process , 2010 .

[39]  Xiaowei Sun,et al.  Kinetic and isotherm studies on the electrosorption of NaCl from aqueous solutions by activated carbon electrodes , 2011 .

[40]  Joseph C. Farmer,et al.  Capacitive Deionization of NaCl and NaNO3 Solutions with Carbon Aerogel Electrodes , 1996 .

[41]  Chun-Chang Ou,et al.  Selective photo-degradation of Rhodamine B over zirconia incorporated titania nanoparticles: a quantitative approach , 2011 .

[42]  H. Teng,et al.  A simplified preparation of mesoporous carbon and the examination of the carbon accessibility for electric double layer formation , 2005 .

[43]  Lijun He,et al.  The capacitive deionization behaviour of a carbon nanotube and reduced graphene oxide composite , 2013 .

[44]  Wei Liu,et al.  Preparation and electrosorption desalination performance of activated carbon electrode with titania , 2011 .

[45]  Woo-Seung Kim,et al.  Predicting the lowest effluent concentration in capacitive deionization , 2013 .

[46]  Zhuo. Sun,et al.  Carbon nanotube–chitosan composite electrodes for electrochemical removal of Cu(II) ions , 2011 .