Abstract
Capacitive deionization, as a second generation electrosorption technique to obtain water, is one of the most promising water desalination technologies. Yet; in order to achieve high CDI performance, a well-designed structure of the electrode materials is needed, and is in high demand. Here, a novel composite nitrogen-TiO2/ZrO2 nanofibers incorporated activated carbon (NACTZ) is synthesized for the first time with enhanced desalination efficiency as well as disinfection performance towards brackish water. Nitrogen and TiO2/ZrO2 nanofibers are used as the support of activated carbon to improve its low capacitance and hydrophobicity, which had dramatically limited its adequacy during the CDI process. Importantly, the as-fabricated NACTZ nanocomposite demonstrates enhanced electrochemical performance with significant specific capacitance of 691.78 F g−1, low internal resistance and good cycling stability. In addition, it offers a high capacitive deionization performance of NACTZ yield with electrosorptive capacity of 3.98 mg g−1, and, good antibacterial effects as well. This work will provide an effective solution for developing highly performance and low-cost design for CDI electrode materials.
Highlights
The limited availability of fresh water is one of the prime challenges in the current era, water is the greatest widespread substance could be found in the environment[1,2]
It is widely known that the electrospinning process has many advantages over the other various nanofiber producing techniques, which are attributed to its ability for slurries spinning as well as its effectiveness and high yield[37]
The rough surface of the synthesized NACTZ nanocomposite is evident, as are the TiO2/ZrO2 NFs that are highly dispersed on activated carbon (AC) granules, and filling the cracks between AC particles without blocking its pores
Summary
It should be noted that the improvement in the specific surface areas of the NACTZ in comparison with the pristine AC could be attributed to the combination between the TiO2/ZrO2 NFs and nitrogen which can improve the porosity of NACTZ leading to increase the electrochemical characteristics and capacitive behavior as well. The NACTZ electrode demonstrates greater improvement in electrochemical performance compared to TiO2/ZrO2 NFs, AC and ACTZ electrodes which is attributed to the co-doping of nitrogen and TiO2/ZrO2 NFs which improved the hydrophilicity and the surface wettability of NACTZ as well as the porous nature resulting in the enhancement of the speed up of the ion transfer into the electrolyte to achieve the electric double-layer property[37].
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