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Abstract In this work, we report the use of pseudocapacitive RuO 2 in a porous carbon-based substrate as a composite electrode for high-performance capacitive deionization (CDI). RuO 2 was electrodeposited onto inexpensive activated carbon (AC) via cyclic voltammetry to optimize the composite electrode (denoted as RuO 2 (20)-AC) fabrication. The electrochemical measurements indicate that the composite electrode with a specific surface area of 576 m2/g and hydrophilicity yields an improved specific capacitance and good cycling stability. The notably enhanced performance is attributed to the presence of RuO 2 , which allows rapid Faradaic charge-transfer reactions as well as pseudocapacitive charge storage. These results confirm that incorporating RuO 2 onto an AC electrode effectively reduces the electrical resistance and enhances the charge efficiency. Furthermore, batch-mode CDI experiments were conducted at 1.2 V in a 5 mM NaCl solution. As evidenced, the RuO 2 (20)-AC composite has a promising salt adsorption capacity of 11.26 mg/g, which is 3.7-fold higher than that of pristine AC. Therefore, using the RuO 2 (20)-AC composite as the cathode, an enhanced desalination performance can be achieved through a mixed capacitive-Faradaic process, resulting from two removal mechanisms of capacitive electrosorption and pseudocapacitive redox reactions. This work provides an efficient strategy to utilize RuO 2 on porous carbon-based substrates to improve CDI performance. Highlights • RuO 2 /activated carbon composite electrodes were prepared for CDI. • Electrodeposited RuO 2 showed good pseudocapacitive charge storage. • The metallic conductivity of RuO 2 ensures rapid ion transport. • The composite had a superior salt electrosorption capacity. • The combination of capacitive electrosorption and Faradaic reactions enhanced the CDI performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Activated carbon fiber (ACF) webs with a non-woven multi-scale texture were fabricated from polyacrylonitrile (PAN), and their electrosorption performance in capacitive deionization for desalination was investigated. PAN nanofibers were prepared by electrospinning, followed by oxidative stabilization and activation with carbon dioxide at 750–900°C, resulting in the ACF webs that were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and nitrogen adsorption. The results show that the as-made ACFs have a specific surface area of 335–712m2/g and an average nanofiber diameter of 285–800nm, which can be tuned by varying the activation temperature. With the ACF webs as an electrode, an electrosorption capacity as high as 4.64mg/g was achieved on a batch-type electrosorptive setup operated at 1.6V. The ACF webs made by electrospinning are of potential as an excellent electrode material for capacitive deionization for desalination. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]