UC San Diego

The Earth has an abundance of seawater but sources of fresh water for domestic use, agriculture or industry make up only 2.5% of this natural resource. The method of capacitive deionization (CDI) can desalinate water more efficiently than reverse osmosis at low salt concentration or brackish water. Electrodes and material binders directly affect CDI performance and efficiency. In order to mass produce electrodes with increased CDI efficiency, a low-cost manufacturing method of forming laser-induced-graphene (LIG) directly on a polyimide spin-coated metal substrate disclosed. CDI efficiency improvement is analyzed for the electrodes manufactured with this method. The application of this technology for brackish water desalination is tested. Potential capability of electrode refurbishing against bio-fouling is also discussed.