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Nitrogen-doped functional graphene nanocomposites for capacitive deionization of NaCl aqueous solutions

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Abstract

Nitrogen-doped functional graphene nanocomposites (GO-MRF-x) for electrode materials in a capacitive deionization (CDI) application were conveniently prepared through a sol–gel polycondensation reaction catalyzed by Na2CO3 under ambient pressure drying. The materials showed high surface functionalization (N and O groups) which were confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The molar ratio of melamine with resorcinol had a marked effect on the specific surface area and porosity of the nanocomposites. The characterization results showed that with the specific surface area of 387 m2 g−1 and N content of 7.26 wt%, laminated GO-MRF-0.8 material exhibited a good performance with high specific capacitance (222 F g−1), low charge-transfer resistance (0.10 Ω), and electrosorption capacity (16.72 mg g−1). Furthermore, the electrosorption isotherms were studied, and it was found that the ion electrosorption behavior of NaCl on GO-MRF-0 followed multilayer adsorption, whereas GO-MRF-0.8 exhibited a change from monolayer to multilayer.

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Acknowledgments

It is a pleasure to acknowledge the generous financial support of this research by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51372011).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Key Laboratory of Beijing City on Preparation and Processing of Novel Polymer Materials, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, China

    Yancong Wei, Guiying Tian, Qinghan Meng & Bing Cao

  2. Ningbo FOTILE Kitchen Ware Co., Ltd, Ningbo, Zhejiang, 315040, China

    Yanqiang Huo

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  1. Yancong Wei
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  2. Yanqiang Huo
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  3. Guiying Tian
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  4. Qinghan Meng
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  5. Bing Cao
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Correspondence to Qinghan Meng.

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Wei, Y., Huo, Y., Tian, G. et al. Nitrogen-doped functional graphene nanocomposites for capacitive deionization of NaCl aqueous solutions. J Solid State Electrochem 20, 2351–2362 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10008-016-3251-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10008-016-3251-2

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