Trace cobalt, nitrogen co-doped graphene for high-performance membrane capacitive deionization

Lu Guo; Chengbo Kou; Daliang Fang; Liping Yang; Guorui Deng; Lei Zhu; Wen Ji; Zhonglei Zhu; Haojie Li; Kuo Meng; Xinyue Ma; Binling Li; Meng Ding; Hui Ying Yang

doi:10.1016/j.seppur.2025.132957

Trace cobalt, nitrogen co-doped graphene for high-performance membrane capacitive deionization

Lu Guo^*, Chengbo Kou, Daliang Fang, Liping Yang, Guorui Deng, Lei Zhu, Wen Ji, Zhonglei Zhu, Haojie Li, Kuo Meng, Xinyue Ma, Binling Li, Meng Ding, Hui Ying Yang

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Porous graphene-based electrodes possess great potential in membrane capacitive deionization (MCDI) applications due to their high conductivity and specific capacitance. To further enhance their desalination performance, a MCDI system utilizing nanostructured porous graphene doped with trace amounts of Co and N atoms (CoNG) as the cathode, and N-doped graphene (NG) as the anode is proposed. The porous structure and co-doping of N and Co imparts CoNG with numerous active reaction sites and enhances its electrochemical stability. Besides, the combination of CoNG and NG electrode lowers the overall adsorption energy of the MCDI system. Under optimal conditions, a high desalination performance of 69.23 mg g⁻¹ and a desalination rate of 2.307 mg g⁻¹ min⁻¹ have been achieved with an energy consumption of 0.36 Wh g⁻¹. This study highlights the potential of graphene-based materials in desalination and lays a foundation for further improvements in their desalination performance.

Original language	English
Article number	132957
Journal	Separation and Purification Technology
Volume	367
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2025.132957
Publication status	Published - 7 Sept 2025

Keywords

Cobalt doping
Graphene
Membrane capacitive deionization
Reaction active sites

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1016/j.seppur.2025.132957

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title = "Trace cobalt, nitrogen co-doped graphene for high-performance membrane capacitive deionization",

abstract = "Porous graphene-based electrodes possess great potential in membrane capacitive deionization (MCDI) applications due to their high conductivity and specific capacitance. To further enhance their desalination performance, a MCDI system utilizing nanostructured porous graphene doped with trace amounts of Co and N atoms (CoNG) as the cathode, and N-doped graphene (NG) as the anode is proposed. The porous structure and co-doping of N and Co imparts CoNG with numerous active reaction sites and enhances its electrochemical stability. Besides, the combination of CoNG and NG electrode lowers the overall adsorption energy of the MCDI system. Under optimal conditions, a high desalination performance of 69.23 mg g−1 and a desalination rate of 2.307 mg g−1 min−1 have been achieved with an energy consumption of 0.36 Wh g−1. This study highlights the potential of graphene-based materials in desalination and lays a foundation for further improvements in their desalination performance.",

keywords = "Cobalt doping, Graphene, Membrane capacitive deionization, Reaction active sites",

author = "Lu Guo and Chengbo Kou and Daliang Fang and Liping Yang and Guorui Deng and Lei Zhu and Wen Ji and Zhonglei Zhu and Haojie Li and Kuo Meng and Xinyue Ma and Binling Li and Meng Ding and Yang, {Hui Ying}",

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year = "2025",

month = sep,

day = "7",

doi = "10.1016/j.seppur.2025.132957",

language = "English",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - Trace cobalt, nitrogen co-doped graphene for high-performance membrane capacitive deionization

AU - Guo, Lu

AU - Kou, Chengbo

AU - Fang, Daliang

AU - Yang, Liping

AU - Deng, Guorui

AU - Zhu, Lei

AU - Ji, Wen

AU - Zhu, Zhonglei

AU - Li, Haojie

AU - Meng, Kuo

AU - Ma, Xinyue

AU - Li, Binling

AU - Ding, Meng

AU - Yang, Hui Ying

PY - 2025/9/7

Y1 - 2025/9/7

N2 - Porous graphene-based electrodes possess great potential in membrane capacitive deionization (MCDI) applications due to their high conductivity and specific capacitance. To further enhance their desalination performance, a MCDI system utilizing nanostructured porous graphene doped with trace amounts of Co and N atoms (CoNG) as the cathode, and N-doped graphene (NG) as the anode is proposed. The porous structure and co-doping of N and Co imparts CoNG with numerous active reaction sites and enhances its electrochemical stability. Besides, the combination of CoNG and NG electrode lowers the overall adsorption energy of the MCDI system. Under optimal conditions, a high desalination performance of 69.23 mg g−1 and a desalination rate of 2.307 mg g−1 min−1 have been achieved with an energy consumption of 0.36 Wh g−1. This study highlights the potential of graphene-based materials in desalination and lays a foundation for further improvements in their desalination performance.

AB - Porous graphene-based electrodes possess great potential in membrane capacitive deionization (MCDI) applications due to their high conductivity and specific capacitance. To further enhance their desalination performance, a MCDI system utilizing nanostructured porous graphene doped with trace amounts of Co and N atoms (CoNG) as the cathode, and N-doped graphene (NG) as the anode is proposed. The porous structure and co-doping of N and Co imparts CoNG with numerous active reaction sites and enhances its electrochemical stability. Besides, the combination of CoNG and NG electrode lowers the overall adsorption energy of the MCDI system. Under optimal conditions, a high desalination performance of 69.23 mg g−1 and a desalination rate of 2.307 mg g−1 min−1 have been achieved with an energy consumption of 0.36 Wh g−1. This study highlights the potential of graphene-based materials in desalination and lays a foundation for further improvements in their desalination performance.

KW - Cobalt doping

KW - Graphene

KW - Membrane capacitive deionization

KW - Reaction active sites

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U2 - 10.1016/j.seppur.2025.132957

DO - 10.1016/j.seppur.2025.132957

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:105002294665

SN - 1383-5866

VL - 367

JO - Separation and Purification Technology

JF - Separation and Purification Technology

M1 - 132957

ER -

Trace cobalt, nitrogen co-doped graphene for high-performance membrane capacitive deionization

Abstract

Keywords

UN SDGs

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