Electrosorption of LiCl in different solvents by carbon nanotube film electrodes

Carbon nanotube (CNT) film electrodes were fabricated on the graphite substrate using the screen printing method and the electrosorption of LiCl in water, methanol, ethanol and N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) by CNT electrodes was studied. The results show that the solvent plays an important role in the removal by electrosorption of lithium ions by CNT electrodes and the electrosorption capacities for LiCl in water, methanol, ethanol and DMF solvents are 1.55, 2.13, 1.25, and 2.88 mg g^-1, respectively. Such a significant difference is related to the characteristics of the solvent, such as the surface tension, viscosity and affinity to CNTs, which affect the ion penetration inside the porous CNT electrodes.