Potential‐Mediated Recycling of Copper From Brackish Water by an Electrochemical Copper Pump

Abstract

Abstract Copper ions (Cu2+) disposed to the environment at massive scale pose severe threat to human health and waste of resource. Electrochemical deionization (EDI) which captures ions by electrical field is a promising technique for water purification. However, the removal capacity and selectivity toward Cu2+ are unsatisfying, yet the recycling of the captured copper in EDI systems is yet to be explored. Herein, an efficient electrochemical copper pump (ECP) that can deliver Cu2+ from dilute brackish water into much more concentrated solutions is constructed using carbon nanosheets for the first time, which works based on reversible electrosorption and electrodeposition. The trade‐off between the removal capacity and reversibility is mediated by the operation voltage. The ECP exhibits a removal capacity of 702.5 mg g−1 toward Cu2+ and a high selectivity coefficient of 64 for Cu2+/Na+ in the presence of multiple cations; both are the highest reported to date. The energy consumption of 1.79 Wh g–1 is among the lowest for EDI of copper. More importantly, the Cu species captured can be released into a 20‐fold higher concentrated solution. Such a high performance is attributed to the optimal potential distribution between the two electrodes that allows reversible electrodeposition and efficient electrosorption.

Keywords

• capacitive deionization
• electrochemical copper pump
• electrodeposition
• hierarchical porous carbon nanosheets