Polyethylene glycol-polyvinylidene fluoride/TiO2 nanocomposite polymer coatings with efficient antifouling strategies: Hydrophilized defensive surface and stable capacitive deionization

Chun-Miao Zhang; Yun-Ze Qiu; Hao Wu; Jing Guan; Shu-Guang Wang; Xue-Fei Sun

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2024.03.147

Polyethylene glycol-polyvinylidene fluoride/TiO₂ nanocomposite polymer coatings with efficient antifouling strategies: Hydrophilized defensive surface and stable capacitive deionization

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2024 Jul 15:666:585-593. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2024.03.147. Epub 2024 Mar 23.

Authors

Chun-Miao Zhang¹, Yun-Ze Qiu², Hao Wu², Jing Guan³, Shu-Guang Wang³, Xue-Fei Sun⁴

Affiliations

¹ School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China; Shandong Key Laboratory of Water Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China.
² School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China.
³ Shandong Key Laboratory of Water Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China.
⁴ School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230009, China; Shandong Key Laboratory of Water Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China. Electronic address: xfsun2018@hfut.edu.cn.

PMID: 38613980
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2024.03.147

Abstract

Capacitive deionization (CDI) is flourishing as an energy-efficient and cost-effective water desalination method. However, challenges such as electrode degradation and fouling have hindered the practical deployment of CDI technology. To address these challenges, the key point of our strategy is applying a hydrophilic coating composed of polyethylene glycol (PEG)-functionalized nano-TiO₂/polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) to the electrode interface (labeled as APPT electrode). The PEG/PVDF/TiO₂ layer not only mitigates the co-ion depletion, but also imparts the activated carbon (AC) electrode hydrophilicity. As anticipated, the APPT electrode possessed an enhanced desalination capacity of 83.54 μmol g^-1 and a low energy consumption of 17.99 Wh m^-3 in 10 mM sodium chloride solution compared with the bare AC electrode. Notably, the APPT maintained about 93.19 % of its desalination capacity after 50 consecutive adsorption-desorption cycles in the presence of bovine serum albumin (BSA). During the trial, moreover, no obvious overall performance decline was noted in concentration reduction (Δc), water recovery (WR) and productivity (P) over 50 cycles. This strategy realizes energy-efficient, antifouling and stable brackish water desalination and has great promise for practical applications.

Keywords: Antifouling coatings; Carbon electrode; Organic fouling.