scholarly journals Synthesis and Characterization of Activated Carbon Co-Mixed Electrospun Titanium Oxide Nanofibers as Flow Electrode in Capacitive Deionization

Materials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (22) ◽  
pp. 6891
Author(s):  
Gbenro Folaranmi ◽  
Myriam Tauk ◽  
Mikhael Bechelany ◽  
Philippe Sistat ◽  
Marc Cretin ◽  
...  

Flow capacitive deionization is a water desalination technique that uses liquid carbon-based electrodes to recover fresh water from brackish or seawater. This is a potential second-generation water desalination process, however it is limited by parameters such as feed electrode conductivity, interfacial resistance, viscosity, and so on. In this study, titanium oxide nanofibers (TiO2NF) were manufactured using an electrospinning process and then blended with commercial activated carbon (AC) to create a well distributed flow electrode in this study. Field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) were used to characterize the morphology, crystal structure, and chemical moieties of the as-synthesized composites. Notably, the flow electrode containing 1 wt.% TiO2NF (ACTiO2NF 1 wt.%) had the highest capacitance and the best salt removal rate (0.033 mg/min·cm2) of all the composites. The improvement in cell performance at this ratio indicates that the nanofibers are uniformly distributed over the electrode’s surface, preventing electrode passivation, and nanofiber agglomeration, which could impede ion flow to the electrode’s pores. This research suggests that the physical mixture could be used as a flow electrode in capacitive deionization.

Nanomaterials ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 1090
Author(s):  
Gbenro Folaranmi ◽  
Mikhael Bechelany ◽  
Philippe Sistat ◽  
Marc Cretin ◽  
Francois Zaviska

Capacitive deionization is a second-generation water desalination technology in which porous electrodes (activated carbon materials) are used to temporarily store ions. In this technology, porous carbon used as electrodes have inherent limitations, such as low electrical conductivity, low capacitance, etc., and, as such, optimization of electrode materials by rational design to obtain hybrid electrodes is key towards improvement in desalination performance. In this work, different compositions of mixture of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) and activated carbon (from 5 to 20 wt% RGO) have been prepared and tested as electrodes for brackish water desalination. The physico-chemical and electrochemical properties of the activated carbon (AC), reduced graphene oxide (RGO), and as-prepared electrodes (AC/RGO-x) were characterized by low-temperature nitrogen adsorption measurement, scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infra-red (FT-IR), cyclic voltammetry (CV), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Among all the composite electrodes, AC/RGO-5 (RGO at 5 wt%) possessed the highest specific capacitance (74 F g−1) and the highest maximum salt adsorption capacity (mSAC) of 8.10 mg g−1 at an operating voltage ∆E = 1.4 V. This shows that this simple approach could offer a potential way of fabricating electrodes of accentuated carbon network of an improved electronic conductivity that’s much coveted in CDI technology.


2020 ◽  
Vol 82 (8) ◽  
pp. 1643-1652
Author(s):  
Lizhi He ◽  
Guoqiao Wang ◽  
Xinxin Zhang ◽  
Yujian Zhang ◽  
Yao Chen

Abstract The sewage sludge production has been increasing along with the ever-growing populations and wastewater treatment rate. Lanthanum-doped activated carbon (AC-La) was derived from municipal sludge via chemical activation and utilized for fluoride removal. Batch experiments were conducted to discuss the effect of lanthanum dosage, time and pH on the adsorption process. The results showed that 4 g/L AC-La exhibited a fluoride removal rate of 80.9% with 10 mg/L initial fluoride concentration, and the optimal pH range for adsorption was 3–10. X-ray fluorescence, scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses were conducted to analyze the microstructure and chemical properties of sludge, unmodified activated carbon (AC) and AC-La. The results showed that with initial lanthanum dosage of 15 wt%, the final loading amount of La in AC-La was 13.8 wt%. After modification, the specific surface area of AC-La increased from 1.8 m2/g (sludge) to 133.0 m2/g. The removal mechanism of fluoride onto AC-La was mainly the inner-sphere complexation between lanthanum and fluoride, facilitated by exchange interaction with hydroxyls. A stability study showed that AC-La maintained a quite small dissolution and was safe in waters (La dissolution rate < 0.2‰).


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (15) ◽  
pp. 4483
Author(s):  
Yuyingnan Liu ◽  
Xinrui Xu ◽  
Bin Qu ◽  
Xiaofeng Liu ◽  
Weiming Yi ◽  
...  

In this study, corn cob was used as raw material and modified methods employing KOH and KMnO4 were used to prepare activated carbon with high adsorption capacity for mercury ions. Experiments on the effects of different influencing factors on the adsorption of mercury ions were undertaken. The results showed that when modified with KOH, the optimal adsorption time was 120 min, the optimum pH was 4; when modified with KMnO4, the optimal adsorption time was 60 min, the optimal pH was 3, and the optimal amount of adsorbent and the initial concentration were both 0.40 g/L and 100 mg/L under both modified conditions. The adsorption process conforms to the pseudo-second-order kinetic model and Langmuir model. Scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Zeta potential characterization results showed that the adsorption process is mainly physical adsorption, surface complexation and ion exchange.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 371-380
Author(s):  
Yongjun Wu ◽  
Nina Xie ◽  
Lu Yu

A novel Ag–Si–TiO2 composite was prepared via sol–gel method for removing residual formaldehyde in shiitake mushroom. The structure of Ag–Si–TiO2 composite was characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses. Ultraviolet-visible absorption spectroscopy (UV-Vis) and N2 adsorption-desorption tests showed that Ag and Si co-doped decreased the band gap, the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) specific surface area of the samples increased and the recombination probability of electron-hole pairs (e--h+) reduced. Effect on removal rate of formaldehyde with different Ag-Si co-doped content, formaldehyde concentration and solution pH were investigated, and the results showed that 6.0 wt%Ag-3.0 wt%Si-TiO2 samples had an optimum catalytic performance, and the degradation efficiency reached 96.6% after 40 W 365 nm UV lamp irradiation for 360 min. The kinetics of formaldehyde degradation by Ag–Si–TiO2 composite photocatalyst could be described by Langmuir-Hinshelwood first-order kinetic model.


Nanomaterials ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 1458 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leon-Ramos ◽  
Diosdado-Cano ◽  
López-Santos ◽  
Barranco ◽  
Torres-Lagares ◽  
...  

Aim: Titanium implants are commonly used as replacement therapy for lost teeth and much current research is focusing on the improvement of the chemical and physical properties of their surfaces in order to improve the osseointegration process. TiO2, when it is deposited in the form of pillar array nanometric structures, has photocatalytic properties and wet surface control, which, together with UV irradiation, provide it with superhydrophilic surfaces, which may be of interest for improving cell adhesion on the peri-implant surface. In this article, we address the influence of this type of surface treatment on type IV and type V titanium discs on their surface energy and cell growth on them. Materials and methods: Samples from titanium rods used for making dental implants were used. There were two types of samples: grade IV and grade V. In turn, within each grade, two types of samples were differentiated: untreated and treated with sand blasting and subjected to double acid etching. Synthesis of the film consisting of titanium oxide pillar array structures was carried out using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition equipment. The plasma was generated in a quartz vessel by an external SLAN-1 microwave source with a frequency of 2.45 GHz. Five specimens from each group were used (40 discs in total). On the surfaces to be studied, the following determinations were carried out: (a) X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, (b) scanning electron microscopy, (c) energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, (d) profilometry, (e) contact angle measurement or surface wettability, (f) progression of contact angle on applying ultraviolet irradiation, and (g) a biocompatibility test and cytotoxicity with cell cultures. Results: The application of ultraviolet light decreased the hydrophobicity of all the surfaces studied, although it did so to a greater extent on the surfaces with the studied modification applied, this being more evident in samples manufactured in grade V titanium. In samples made in grade IV titanium, this difference was less evident, and even in the sample manufactured with grade IV and SLA treatment, the application of the nanometric modification of the surface made the surface optically less active. Regarding cell growth, all the surfaces studied, grouped in relation to the presence or not of the nanometric treatment, showed similar growth. Conclusions. Treatment of titanium oxide surfaces with ultraviolet irradiation made them change temporarily into superhydrophilic ones, which confirms that their biocompatibility could be improved in this way, or at least be maintained.


Processes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. 926
Author(s):  
Shamim Ahmed Hira ◽  
Mohammad Yusuf ◽  
Dicky Annas ◽  
Hu Shi Hui ◽  
Kang Hyun Park

Activated carbon (AC) was fabricated from carrot waste using ZnCl2 as the activating agent and calcined at 700 °C for 2 h in a tube furnace. The as-synthesized AC was characterized using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analysis; the results revealed that it exhibited a high specific surface area and high porosity. Moreover, this material displayed superior catalytic activity for the degradation of toxic Rhodamine B (RhB) dye. Rate constant for the degradation of RhB was ascertained at different experimental conditions. Lastly, we used the Arrhenius equation and determined that the activation energy for the decomposition of RhB using AC was approximately 35.9 kJ mol−1, which was very low. Hopefully it will create a great platform for the degradation of other toxic dye in near future.


1988 ◽  
Vol 129 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. A. Mccaulley ◽  
V. R. Mccrary ◽  
V. M. Donnelly

ABSTRACTWe report X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) studies of excimer laser stimulated decomposition of triethylgallium (TEGa) and trimethylgallium (TMGa) adsorbed on Gastabilized GaAs(100) surfaces in ultrahigh vacuum. TEGa and TMGa dissociatively chemisorb on GaAs at room temperature, whereupon irradiation by an excimer laser (at 193 or 351 nm) leads to further dissociation and desorption of carbon-containing species. The carbon removal rate (per laser pulse) decreases as carbon is removed suggesting multiple reaction sites, coverage dependent Arrhenius parameters, or second-order reactions. Based on the dependence of the rate on laser wavelength and fluence, we conclude that at low fluence, a two-photon electronic excitation of the adsorbate occurs, while at high fluence, laser induced pyrolysis dominates.


2014 ◽  
Vol 67 (5) ◽  
pp. 749 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongchao Ma ◽  
Yifeng Liu ◽  
Yinghuan Fu ◽  
Chunling Yu ◽  
Xiaoli Dong ◽  
...  

Cu–Cu2O–CuO/activated carbon heterostructure composites with visible-light activity have been successfully synthesized by a simple carbothermal reduction procedure using CuSO4 as a single precursor. The resultant samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements. The results showed that the Cu–Cu2O–CuO composites with size less than 10 nm dispersed well on the surface of activated carbon. Activated carbon played both a reducing agent and support role in the formation of Cu–Cu2O–CuO/activated carbon heterostructure composites. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis suggests that the outside of the nanoparticles is CuO and the inside of the nanoparticles is Cu metal and Cu2O. Moreover, the composition of Cu–Cu2O–CuO/activated carbon composites can be tailored by varying the Cu loading, heat-treatment temperature, and heat-treatment time. The photocatalytic activities of the catalysts were investigated by degrading reactive brilliant blue KN-R under visible-light irradiation. The Cu–Cu2O–CuO/activated carbon heterostructure composites showed excellent photocatalytic activity compared with other catalysts (pure CuO, Cu2O, Cu2O/activated carbon, CuO/activated carbon, and Cu2O–CuO/activated carbon), which is ascribed to synergistic action between the activated carbon support and photoactive copper species, and the presence of interfacial structures such as a Cu2O/CuO heterostructure, Cu/Cu2O (or CuO) Schottky barrier, and Cu2O/Cu/CuO ohmic heterojunction.


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