Platanus acerifolia (Aiton) Willd. fruit-derived nitrogen-doped porous carbon as an electrode material for the capacitive deionization of brackish water

Abstract

Capacitive deionization (CDI) is a new technology for the desalination of brackish water and its performance is greatly affected by the electrode materials utilized. Biomass-derived carbons have attracted significant attention as CDI materials due to their high availability, inexpensiveness, renewability and eco-friendly characteristics. In this work, Platanus acerifolia (Aiton) Willd. fruit-derived nitrogen-doped porous carbon (sf-APAWx) is prepared through carbonization at 450 °C, followed by NaOH activation at different temperatures of 700, 800 and 900 °C. The sf-CPAW activated at 800 °C possesses a large specific surface area (3846 m2 g−1), affluent pores and a hierarchical structure; and exhibits a high specific capacitance of 138.81 F g−1, a satisfactory salt adsorption capacity of 18.05 mg g−1 and the fastest salt adsorption rate of 1.01 mg g−1 min−1. These results demonstrate the potential of sf-APAW800 as an electrode material for CDI and the sustainable use of abandoned resources.