Carbon dioxide-activated mesoporous date palm fronds carbon integrated with MnO2/polyaniline for highly efficient capacitive deionization of water.

The continuous population growth and drying up the freshwater reservoirs around the world are increasing the demand for fresh water. Therefore, there is an urgent need to explore newer technologies able to purify water on large scales for human usage. Capacitive deionization is one of the most promising approaches to generate fresh water by the removal of salt ions from brackish water. In this work, we prepared three different capacitive deionization electrodes using carbonized palm tree fronds (PFC). These PFC activation was achieved using CO₂ at 900°C. To generate the deionization electrodes, PFC activated carbon was combined with either polyaniline (PANI), MnO₂, or both (PFC-PANI, PFC-MnO₂, and PFC-MnO₂-PANI). The MnO₂ and PANI provided additional functionality and enhanced electrical conductivity, which resulted in much higher Na⁺ and Cl^- ions adsorption. The BET surface area of PFC-MnO₂-PANI was estimated to be 208.56 m²/g, which is approximately three times that of PCF-PANI and PFC-MnO₂ alone. The morphological analysis showed that the PANI and MnO₂ nanorods were well dispersed throughout the PFC network. Although PANI and MnO₂ is largely embedded inside the PFC network, some remnants are visible on the surface of the electrodes. The cyclic voltammetry (CV) curves showed capacitive behavior of all electrodes in which PFC-MnO₂-PANI showed highest specific capacitance of 84 F/g, while the PFC-MnO₂ and PFC-PANI showed 42 and 43 F/g, respectively. Owing to its enhanced functionality and CV characteristics, the PFC-MnO₂-PANI showed maximum salt adsorption capacity of 10.5 mg/g in contrast to 3.72 and 5.64 mg/g for PFC-MnO₂ and PFC-PANI, respectively. Moreover, the measured contact angle for PFC-MnO₂-PANI was ~51°, which indicates the hydrophilic nature of electrode that improved ions adsorption. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Date tree fronds were converted into mesopores carbon using CO₂ as activation agent. Three composites were prepared with PANI, MnO₂, and date palm fronds activated carbon (PFC-MnO₂, PFC-MnO₂-PANI, and PFC-PANI). Surface area, pore profile, surface morphology, electrochemical behavior, desalination performance, and hydrophilicity of all the electrodes were investigated. The PFC-MnO₂-PANI showed maximum salt adsorption capacity of 10.5 mg/g in contrast to 3.72 and 5.64 mg/g for PFC-MnO₂ and PFC-PANI, respectively.