Heteroatom-doped porous carbons, particularly those incorporating nitrogen functionalities, demonstrate exceptional electrochemical properties advantageous for capacitive deionization (CDI) defluorination. Nevertheless, the underlying mechanism of fluoride removal remains inadequately understood, warranting comprehensive investigation to facilitate the practical implementation of CDI technology. Herein, a novel nitrogen-doped hierarchical porous carbon nanofiber membrane (HPCNM) derived from a hydrochloric acid etched FeNi3@CNFs (FeNi3 alloy encapsulated within carbon nanofibers) network was reasonably designed and synthesized for CDI defluorination. The HPCNM electrode exhibited superior defluorination capabilities, attributed to its distinctive hierarchical porosity and compositional architecture. The novel material achieves remarkable performance metrics, including a defluorination capacity of 58.38 mg g−1, rapid ion removal kinetics (0.97 mg g−1 min−1), and maintained efficiency throughout 20 operational cycles. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicate that nitrogen-doped carbon (NC) preferentially adsorbs fluoride, exhibiting the lowest adsorption energy. Fluoride interacts with NC through a combination of weak covalent bonds and van der Waals forces. Its inherent electronegativity, hardness, and high electrophilicity index, contrasted with low softness and nucleophilicity, facilitate the selective adsorption. Furthermore, an optimized NC electrode, operating at 1.2 V in simulated industrial wastewater, achieved fluoride removal compliant with national standards, demonstrating its practical applicability for treating contaminated effluent. These findings advance the understanding of selective fluoride removal, contributing to the development of targeted electrodes for industrial applications.
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