The Enhanced Electrosorption Capacity of Activated Charcoal (AC) and WC@AC Composite for Water Desalination through Capacitive Deionization

Capacitive deionization (CDI) is a promising electrochemical water desalination technology. It is intended to be a low-energy-consumption technology. Because of its low cost and easy availability, activated carbon (AC) has been extensively tested as a CDI electrode material. It does, however, have hydrophobic properties and a low specific capacitance. In this study, tungsten carbide (WC) was incorporated with AC and used in the hydrothermal treatment process. WC plays an important role on enhancing the electrochemical and electrosorption activity of WC and overcoming the aforementioned issues. A single-batch mode CDI cell was used to test the desalination performance. In comparison to pristine AC (118.3 Fg(-1)) and WC (11.4 Fg(-1)), the addition of 10% WC to AC resulted in a high specific capacitance (1471 Fg(-1)) at 5 mVs(-1). As a result, in CDI technology, this material is regarded as a promising candidate for water desalination.