One-pot synthesis of activated carbon decorated with ZnO nanoparticles for capacitive deionization application

Abstract

Abstract A ZnO nanoparticles-decorated activated carbon (ACZn) nanocomposite was successfully fabricated via the hydrothermal method for efficient capacitive deionization. The as-fabricated ACZn material was characterized in terms of field emission scanning electron microscope-energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area analyses. These techniques revealed the formation of ZnO-decorated AC nanocomposite. The electrochemical performance of the fabricated ACZn nanocomposite as an electrode material for capacitive deionization was evaluated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), and impedance spectroscopy (EIS) tests in 1\xa0M sodium chloride. The obtained results revealed that the fabricated ACZn nanocomposite exhibited higher specific capacitance (407.17\xa0F/g) compared to AC (207.46\xa0F/g) at the sweep rate of 10\xa0mV/s. A desalination performance enhancement was obtained after the incorporation with ZnO nanoparticles and the electrosorptive capacity was 3.93\xa0mg/g. This work will provide a novel electrode for capacitive deionization.