Nitrogen-doped porous carbon tubes composites derived from metal-organic framework for highly efficient capacitive deionization

Electrode materials with high electrosorption capacity and stable cycling performance are desired by the capacitive deionization (CDI) process. A novel CDI electrode is prepared by developing the nitrogen-doped porous carbon tubes composite (PCT-N) material. It consists of interconnected tubular network construction and hierarchical porous structure. The electrospun polyacrylonitrile/zinc acetate (PAN/Zn(Ac)(2)) nanofibers coated with a layer of zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF, a subfamily of metal-organic frameworks) nanocrystals are used as precursors for carbonization. The prepared PCT-N material has high nitrogen-doping amount and hollow macroporous structure with lateral mesopores. It has advantages of excellent electrical conductivity, higher specific surface area and larger total pore volume. The material exhibits a salt adsorption capacity of 16.7 mg g(-1) in 500 mg L-1 initial NaCl solution, and shows good cycle stability over 100 cycles. Such a PCT-N electrode provides a promising alternative candidate for developing CDI technology. (c) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.