Enhanced Salt Removal in an Inverted Capacitive Deionization Cell Using Amine Modified Microporous Carbon Cathodes

Microporous SpectraCarb carbon cloth was treated using nitric acid to enhance negative surface charges of COO^- in a neutral solution. This acid-treated carbon was further modified by ethylenediamine to attach -NH₂ surface functional groups, resulting in positive surface charges of -NH₃⁺ via pronation in a neutral solution. Through multiple characterizations, in comparison to pristine SpectraCarb carbon, amine-treated SpectraCarb carbon displays a decreased potential of zero charge but an increased point of zero charge, which is opposed to the effect obtained for acid-treated SpectraCarb carbon. An inverted capacitive deionization cell was constructed using amine-treated cathodes and acid-treated anodes, where the cathode is the negatively polarized electrode and the anode is the positively polarized electrode. Constant-voltage switching operation using NaCl solution showed that the salt removal capacity was approximately 5.3 mg g^-1 at a maximum working voltage of 1.1/0 V, which is an expansion in both the salt capacity and potential window from previous i-CDI results demonstrated for carbon xerogel materials. This improved performance is accounted for by the enlarged cathodic working voltage window through ethylenediamine-derived functional groups, and the enhanced microporosity of the SpectraCarb electrodes for salt adsorption. These results expand the use of i-CDI for efficient desalination applications.