Electrosorption of NaCl solutions with carbon nanotubes and nanofibers composite film electrodes

Electrosorption of ions from aqueous solutions with carbon nanotubes and nanofibers (CNTs-CNFs) composite film electrodes has been demonstrated. The low-cost, large area CNTs-CNFs composite film was directly grown on Ni plate by low-pressure, low-temperature thermal chemical vapor deposition. Successful purification of water with good reproducibility by electrosorption of CNTs-CNFs composite films was achieved because of optimal pore size distribution, which leads to lower electrical double-layer overlapping effect. The electrosorption capacity of CNTs-CNFs composite film electrodes was ∼ 15-65 μ-mol/g and comparable to carbon aerogels. The ion sorption followed a Langmuir isotherm, indicating monolayer adsorption.