Eco-friendly facile synthesis of glucose–derived microporous carbon spheres electrodes with enhanced performance for water capacitive deionization

Water desalination via capacitive deionization technique (CDI) is deeply affected by the properties of electrode materials. In this work, microporous carbon spheres (CSs) were fabricated by simple green eco-friendly process with low cost materials where glucose is converted to carbon spheres via polymerization reactions through hydrothermal treatment followed by carbonization. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) and Nitrogen adsorption-desorption studies have characterized the obtained CSs. Measurements of Cyclic Voltammetry (CV), Galvanostatic Charge and Discharge (GCD), and Potentio-Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (PEIS) were used to investigate the electrochemical behavior. The desalination performance and the effect of different carbonization temperature on the chemical, structural and surface properties were studied. It was found that the CS800 electrode possessed large surface area and high electrosorption capacity (10.3 mg g−1) which suggest its use as a promising candidate for CDI.