Issue 11, 2018

Capacitive deionization of saline water using sandwich-like nitrogen-doped graphene composites via a self-assembling strategy

Abstract

Capacitive deionization (CDI) is a promising water treatment technology that is proposed to solve water scarcity. In this study, sandwich-like nitrogen-doped graphene composites were designed and produced as high-performance CDI electrodes via a self-assembling strategy. Nitrogen-doped mesoporous carbon was directly created and assembled onto the graphene surface using dopamine hydrochloride as a carbon and nitrogen source and nano-silica as a hard template. This unique sandwich architecture provides a large accessible surface area and lower electronic resistivity, resulting from creating a “plane-to-porous plane” conducting network for increased adsorption sites and rapid electron transportation pathways. The specific surface area (918 m2 g−1) and excellent wettability of sandwich-like nitrogen-doped graphene were further improved by incorporating nitrogen in surface texture and chemistry. The material was tested for the CDI application in NaCl aqueous solution. The sandwich-like nitrogen-doped graphene electrodes demonstrated a high salt adsorption capacity of up to 18.4 mg g−1 in a 500 mg L−1 NaCl aqueous solution with a larger charge efficiency and an ideal recycling performance. These enhanced capacitive deionization performances of the sandwich-like nitrogen-doped graphene electrodes are attributed to the unique “plane-to-porous plane” internetworked architecture. This study offers a promising solution to develop high-performance electrode materials for removal of ions from saline water.

Graphical abstract: Capacitive deionization of saline water using sandwich-like nitrogen-doped graphene composites via a self-assembling strategy

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
12 Jun 2018
Accepted
04 Oct 2018
First published
04 Oct 2018

Environ. Sci.: Nano, 2018,5, 2722-2730

Capacitive deionization of saline water using sandwich-like nitrogen-doped graphene composites via a self-assembling strategy

T. Yan, J. Liu, H. Lei, L. Shi, Z. An, H. S. Park and D. Zhang, Environ. Sci.: Nano, 2018, 5, 2722 DOI: 10.1039/C8EN00629F

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