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Updated: Apr 20, 2026

Merging Ion Concentration Polarization between Juxtaposed Ion Exchange Membranes to Block the Propagation of the Polarization Zone
Published on: February 23, 2017
Continuous operation of membrane capacitive deionization cells assembled with dissimilar potential of zero charge
Ayokunle Omosebi1, Xin Gao1, Jeffery Rentschler1
1Center for Applied Energy Research, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40511, USA.
Abstract:
The performance of single stack membrane assisted capacitive deionization cells configured with pristine and nitric acid oxidized Zorflex (ZX) electrode pairs was evaluated. The potentials of zero charge for the pristine and oxidized electrodes were respectively -0.2V and 0.2V vs. SCE. Four cell combinations of the electrodes including a pristine anode-pristine cathode, oxidized anode-pristine cathode, pristine anode-oxidized cathode, and oxidized anode-oxidized cathode were investigated. When the PZC was located within the polarization window of the electrode, diminished performance was observed. The cells were operated at 1.2 V and based on potential distribution results, the effective working potentials were ∼0.9, 0.8, 1.2, and 1.1 V for the pristine anode-pristine cathode, oxidized anode-pristine cathode, pristine anode-oxidized cathode, and oxidized anode-oxidized cathode cells, respectively. The highest electrosorption capacity of 17 mg NaCl/g ZX was observed for the pristine anode-oxidized cathode cell, where both PZCs were outside of the polarization window.
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