Cu-based MOF-derived architecture with Cu/Cu2O nanospheres anchored on porous carbon nanosheets for efficient capacitive deionization

Guang Zhu; Lei Chen; Ting Lu; Li Zhang; Md Shahriar A Hossain; Mohammed A Amin; Yusuke Yamauchi; Yanjiang Li; Xingtao Xu; Likun Pan

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2022.112909

Cu-based MOF-derived architecture with Cu/Cu₂O nanospheres anchored on porous carbon nanosheets for efficient capacitive deionization

Environ Res. 2022 Jul:210:112909. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.112909. Epub 2022 Feb 11.

Authors

Guang Zhu¹, Lei Chen², Ting Lu², Li Zhang¹, Md Shahriar A Hossain³, Mohammed A Amin⁴, Yusuke Yamauchi⁵, Yanjiang Li⁶, Xingtao Xu⁷, Likun Pan⁸

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Spin Electron and Nanomaterials of Anhui Higher Education Institutes, Suzhou University, Suzhou, 234000, China.
² Shanghai Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance, School of Physics and Electronic Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China.
³ Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia; School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology (EAIT), The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia.
⁴ Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif, 21944, Saudi Arabia.
⁵ Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia; School of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology (EAIT), The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia; International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (WPI-MANA), National Institute for Materials Science, 1-1 Namiki, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-0044, Japan.
⁶ Key Laboratory of Spin Electron and Nanomaterials of Anhui Higher Education Institutes, Suzhou University, Suzhou, 234000, China. Electronic address: yanjianghx@163.com.
⁷ International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (WPI-MANA), National Institute for Materials Science, 1-1 Namiki, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-0044, Japan. Electronic address: XU.Xingtao@nims.go.jp.
⁸ Shanghai Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance, School of Physics and Electronic Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China. Electronic address: lkpan@phy.ecnu.edu.cn.

PMID: 35157915
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.112909

Abstract

The design of high-performance electrode materials with excellent desalination ability has always been a research goal for efficient capacitive deionization (CDI). Herein, a hybrid architecture with Cu/Cu₂O nanospheres anchored on porous carbon nanosheets (Cu/Cu₂O/C) was first synthesized by pyrolyzing a two-dimensional (2D) Cu-based metal-organic framework and then evaluated as a cathode for hybrid CDI. The as-prepared Cu/Cu₂O/C exhibits a hierarchically porous structure with a high specific surface area of 305 m² g^-1 and large pore volume of 0.55 cm³ g^-1, which is favorable to accelerating ion migration and diffusion. The porous carbon nanosheet matrix with enhanced conductivity will facilitate the Faradaic reactions of Cu/Cu₂O nanospheres during the desalination process. The Cu/Cu₂O/C hybrid architecture displays a high specific capacitance of 142.5 F g^-1 at a scan rate of 2 mV s^-1 in 1 M NaCl solution. The hybrid CDI constructed using the Cu/Cu₂O/C cathode and a commercial activated carbon anode exhibits a high desalination capacity of 16.4 mg g^-1 at an operation voltage of 1.2 V in 500 mg L^-1 NaCl solution. Additionally, the hybrid CDI exhibits a good cycling stability with 18.3% decay in the desalination capacity after 20 electrosorption-desorption cycles. Thus, the Cu/Cu₂O/C composite is expected to be a promising cathode material for hybrid CDI.

Keywords: Capacitive deionization; Cu/Cu(2)O nanosphere; Desalination; Metal–organic framework; Porous carbon nanosheets.