CONDUCTING POLYMER MATERIAL BASED ELECTRODES FOR WATER DESALINATION VIA CAPACITIVE DEIONIZATION

Abstract

Capacitive deionization (CDI) is renowned for its economic viability, minimal energy usage, and environmental sustainability. Because of their stability and electrical conductivity, microporous carbons are a common component of traditional CDI electrodes. However, these materials usually have lower desalination capacities than more sophisticated alternatives like metal oxide composites, which have higher salt adsorption capacity (SAC) and are more energy-efficient. The focus of recent research has switched to investigating novel electrode materials to enhance the performance of CDI. Conducting polymers, such as polyaniline (PANI), are becoming more popular due to their flexible surface morphology, relatively higher conductivity and ion adsorption properties. BET surface area of AC/PANIF was around 1241 m2/g that is lower than AC's, which is 1282 m2/g, whereas AC/PANIH's was larger about 1350 m2/g. High pseudocapacitance from the addition of PANI nanofibers resulted in higher adsorption of Na+ and Cl- ions. According to the results, all the electrodes displayed capacitive behavior. The maximum specific capacitance was determined by the cyclic voltammetry (CV) curves: 73 and 71 F/g for the AC/PANIF, AC/PANIH and 39 F/g for the AC electrodes respectively. In addition, the wettability of the AC/PANIF electrode improved, decreasing by about 30 units. The AC/PANIF showed a higher capacity for salt adsorption, about 15 mg/g, than AC and AC/PANIH due to its improved functionality and CV properties.