A simple, green, novel, time-efficient, and potentially cost-effective water activation method was employed to enhance the electrochemical activity of graphite felt (GF) electrodes for vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs). The GF electrode prepared with a water vapor injection time of 5 min at 700 degrees C exhibits the highest electrochemical activity for the VO2+/VO2+ couple among all the tested electrodes. This is attributed to the small, controlled amount of water vapor that was introduced producing high contents of oxygen-containing functional groups, such as -OH groups, on the surface of the GF fibers, which are known to be electrochemically active sites for vanadium redox reactions. Charge discharge tests further confirm that only 5 min of GF water activation is required to improve the efficiency of the VRFB cell. The average coulombic efficiency, voltage efficiency, and energy efficiency are 95.06%, 87.42%, and 83.10%, respectively, at a current density of 50 mA cm(-2). These voltage and energy efficiencies are determined to be considerably higher than those of VRFB cells assembled using heat-treated GF electrodes without water activation and pristine GF electrodes. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.