The fabrication of electrodes grafted with zinc oxide (ZnO) micro/nanomaterials (nanoparticles, nanorods, microsheets and microspheres) on activated carbon cloth (ACC) for water desalination by capacitive deionization (CDI) is reported. ZnO micro/nanomaterials were hydrothermally grown on ACC and used as electrodes in a flow cell for brackish water desalination. Morphology of ZnO structures on ACC surfaces was found to affect salt removal efficiency. The desalination experiments were carried out using 100 ppm sodium chloride (NaCl) solution employing a flow rate of 2 ml/min in a parallel plate configuration with an electrode area of similar to 8.4 cm(2) under an applied potential of 1.2 V (DC). Enhanced salt removal efficiency of 22% for ZnO microsheet grafted ACC electrodes as well as ZnO nanorod grafted ACC electrodes was achieved. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.