Electrosorptive desalination on Ti-loaded activated carbon electrodes
载钛活性炭电极电吸附除盐性能的研究

Activated carbon loaded with titanium was prepared by a sol-gel method, and then made into electrodes. The electrodes were characterized using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-ray fluorescence diffraction (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and electrochemical techniques to analyze their surface morphology, elemental composition, crystal phase and electrochemical performance. And the desalination capability of the electrodes before and after loading with Ti was tested. The performance of the Ti-activated carbon electrode was compared with carbon nanotube and activated carbon fiber electrodes. The results showed that the Ti in the activated carbon electrode was in the form of titanium dioxide (rutile). Top grade and TiO2 with flocculent structure accumulated on the surface of the electrodes. Furthermore, the rate of formation of the electric double layer was greatly increased and the electrosorption capacity was significantly improved after loading with titanium. NaCl electrosorption experiments demonstrated that the electrosorption capacity was obviously increased, whereas its physical adsorption was decreased, compared with the activated carbon electrode alone. The desalination rate of the Ti-activated carbon electrode improved by 62.7% over the non-Ti loaded electrode. The analysis results indicate the Ti-loaded activated carbon electrodes are more suitable than other types for electrosorptive desalination.