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Toward anti-fouling capacitive deionization by using visible-light reduced TiO2/graphene nanocomposites

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Abstract

In this work, we showcased a visible-light-assisted reduction of graphene oxide (GO) using N-doped TiO2 photocatalysts. Bench scale capacitive deionization (CDI) experiments determine the optimum working voltage for TiO2-reduced graphene oxide (RGO) nanocomposites as CDI electrodes at 1.8 V. Furthermore, the coupled TiO2 nanoparticles within the as-prepared composite also exhibited photocatalytic ability by removing the humic acid model pollutant. This property is expected to be beneficial as it could relieve the degree of fouling on the electrosorptive surface caused by dissolved organic compounds. In the end, we have demonstrated their potential as a viable desalination watertreatmenttechnology in a pilot scale CDI unit.

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Acknowledgments

This work was funded by an International Scientific Cooperation Project (grant no. CJ20140718) of Changzhou Science and Technology Bureau, China. Laboratory assistance by Dr. Haibo Li was greatly appreciated. Dr. Wei Zhang would also like to thank Australian Endeavour Fellowship Program and University of South Australia Early Career Researcher Travel Grant Scheme for their financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Water Management and Reuse, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, SA, 5095, Australia

    Wei Zhang

  2. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Changzhou University, Changzhou, Jiangsu, 213164, China

    Baoping Jia

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  1. Wei Zhang
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  2. Baoping Jia
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Correspondence to Wei Zhang.

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Zhang, W., Jia, B. Toward anti-fouling capacitive deionization by using visible-light reduced TiO2/graphene nanocomposites. MRS Communications 5, 613–617 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1557/mrc.2015.65

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/mrc.2015.65

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