Effect of Urea Content on MCDI Performance of Waste-Corn-Stalk-Derived Cellulose Carbon Aerogel

Carbon aerogel was prepared from waste corn stalk following a four-step process: (1) purification of cellulose, (2) gelation, (3) carbonization and (4) activation. Different amounts of urea as gelation agent were employed to investigate their effect on the characteristics of carbon aerogel as well as the electrochemical properties and desalination capability of carbon aerogel electrode. ACCA-1.5 sample (cellulose:urea ratio of 1:1.5) possessed the largest BET surface area of 713 m(2) g(-1) with 76.88% micropores, the highest specific capacitance of 67.2 F g(-1), and the highest SAC value of 22.19 mg g(-1) after 1415 s. These results propose an effective method to exploit the cheap and abundant waste biomass to fabricate MCDI electrodes in the desalination process.

Automated summary

Carbon aerogel was prepared from waste corn stalk by a four-step process, using different amounts of urea as gelation agent to investigate their effect on the properties of carbon aerogel and its electrochemical performance. The ACCA-1.5 sample had the highest BET surface area of 713 m(2) g(-1), with 76.88% micropores, the highest specific capacitance of 67.2 F g(-1), and the highest SAC value of 22.19 mg g(-1) after 1415 s. These results suggest an effective method to utilize cheap and abundant waste biomass for fabricating electrodes in desalination processes.