Mesoporous carbon nanofiber engineered for improved supercapacitor performance

• Published in: The Korean journal of chemical engineering Vol. 36; no. 2; pp. 312 - 320
• Main Authors: Ghosh, Subrata, Yong, Wan Dao, Jin, En Mei, Polaki, Shyamal Rao, Jeong, Sang Mun, Jun, Hangbae
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.02.2019; Springer Nature B.V; 한국화학공학회
• Subjects: Biotechnology; Capacitance; Carbon fibers; Catalysis; Charge transfer; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Discharge; Electrochemical analysis; Electrodes; Electronic; Flux density; Graphitization; Industrial Chemistry/Chemical Engineering; Inorganic; Materials (Organic; Materials Science; Nanofibers; Porosity; Supercapacitors; Thin Films; 화학공학; Supercapacitor; Electrospinning; Specific Capacitance; Tandem Cell; Porous Carbon Nanofiber
• ISSN: 0256-1115; 1975-7220
• DOI: 10.1007/s11814-018-0199-1

Carbon nanofiber is a well-known carbon nanostructure employed in flexible supercapacitor electrode. Despite recent developments, improvement in the performance of carbon nanofiber-based electrode is still the subject of intense research. We investigated the supercapacitor performance of porosity-induced carbon nanofibers (CNFs). The fabrication process involves electrospinning, calcination, and subsequent etching. The porous CNF not only delivers a higher capacitance of 248 F/g at a current density of 1 A/g, but also exhibits a higher rate performance of 73.54%, lower charge transfer resistance and only 1.1% capacitance loss after 2000 charge-discharge cycles, compared to pristine CNF. The excellent electrochemical behavior of porous CNF is correlated with the degree of graphitization, a higher volume of mesopores, and enhanced surface area. The as-fabricated symmetric device comprising porous CNF exhibits an energy density of 9.9 Wh/kg, the power density of 0.69 kW/kg and capacitance retention of 89% after 5000 charge-discharge cycles. The introduction of porosity in CNFs is a promising strategy to achieve high-performance supercapacitor electrode.