Tungsten carbide@graphene nanoflakes: Preparation, characterization and electrochemical activity for capacitive deionization technology

Abdullah M Al-Enizi; R M Abdel Hameed; M M El-Halwany; Mahmoud Bakrey; Shoyebmohamad F Shaikh; Ayman Yousef

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2020.06.089

Tungsten carbide@graphene nanoflakes: Preparation, characterization and electrochemical activity for capacitive deionization technology

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2021 Jan 1;581(Pt A):112-125. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2020.06.089. Epub 2020 Jul 18.

Authors

Abdullah M Al-Enizi¹, R M Abdel Hameed², M M El-Halwany³, Mahmoud Bakrey⁴, Shoyebmohamad F Shaikh¹, Ayman Yousef⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
² Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt. Electronic address: randa311eg@yahoo.com.
³ Engineering Mathematics and Physics Department, Faculty of Engineering, Mansoura University, El-Mansoura, Egypt.
⁴ Department of Engineering Materials and Design, Faculty of Energy Engineering, Aswan University, Aswan 81528, Egypt.
⁵ Department of Chemical Engineering, Jazan University, Jazan 45142, Saudi Arabia(f); Department of Mathematics and Physics Engineering, Faculty of Engineering at Mataria, Helwan University, Cairo 11718, Egypt(e). Electronic address: aymanyousef84@gmail.com.

PMID: 32771724
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2020.06.089

Abstract

In this present work, tungsten carbide (WC) nanoparticles were intercalated between graphene nanoflakes (GNFs) using sonication followed by hydrothermal treatment. Pristine WC, GNFs and a series of WC@GNFs nanomaterials were physically characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) and water contact angle measurements. Cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance studies were operated to investigate the electrochemical performance of these nanocomposites as efficient capacitive deionization (CDI) electrodes with improved electrochemical characteristics and specific capacitances in NaCl solution. Among the synthesized nanomaterials, WC@GNFs containing 10% WC displayed appreciable specific capacitance [580.00 F g^-1], salt removal efficiency [95.50%], electrosorptive capacity [22.155 mg g^-1] and charge efficiency [0.356] values. Accordingly, the measured results in this study indicate that WC@GNFs nanomaterials are suitable electrodes with an easy preparation route for efficient CDI technology.

Keywords: Capacitive deionization; Charge-discharge study; Graphene nanoflakes; Metal carbides; Salt removal efficiency.