Hierarchically Porous Carbon Nanofibers with Controllable Porosity Derived from Iodinated Polyvinyl Alcohol for Supercapacitors

Abstract

Porous carbon nanoframeworks have attracted considerable interest for promising applications such as water purification, catalyst supports, gas adsorption, and energy storage owing to their high surface area and electrical conductivity. Traditional synthetic methods applied for porous carbon commonly involve a number of toxic organic solvents and post‐treatments, which are time‐consuming and energy inefficient. Herein, the authors report a facile synthetic method for generating atomically small pores in carbon nanofibers, with sizes varying from ≈0.55 nm to a few nanometers, using water‐soluble and cost‐effective polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) nanofibers as a precursor through the introduction of an iodine treatment. In particular, the generation mechanism of ultrafine pores during the carbonization of iodinated PVA are deeply analyzed and elucidated through meticulous investigations into their chemical/structural properties. By the suggested mechanism, the specific surface area of the generated pores is found to be extensively controlled from 100–650 m2 g−1. This phenomenon is advanced to produce well‐controlled hierarchically porous carbon nanofibers, and analyzes the corresponding electrochemical characteristics to explore the potential usage of such fibers as a supercapacitor.

Strategically Controlled Flash Irradiation on Silicon Anode for Enhancing Cycling Stability and Rate Capability toward High-Performance Lithium-Ion Batteries

“…We verified the sp2 hybridized C–C bonds were newly created after the HISP flash irradiation by confirming the peak located at 283 eV. − This carbonization reaction could be intensified by increasing the energy density of the HISP flash, as shown in Figure S9 (Supporting Information), which shows the peak intensity of the sp2 hybridized C–C bonds increased as the flash energy increased. The results of the Raman spectroscopy provided additional evidence of conductive C generation in high accordance with the XPS results by revealing the peaks positioned at 1350 and 1590 cm –1 , signifying the D-band and G-band, respectively, of typical conductive C. − …”

A Highly Efficient Nanostructured Sorbent of Sulfuric Acid from Ecofriendly Electrospun Poly(vinyl alcohol) Mats

“…Fatema et al also dehydrated PVA nanostructures but combined heat treatments with iodine exposure, achieving polyene-type structures with cyclization. Similarly, Seok et al reported that aromatic cyclic carbons were partially formed through dehydration reactions when PVA was iodine treated. Their results demonstrated the formation of carbons with sp 2 hybridization.…”

A novel biomedical compatibilizer (polyvinyl alcohol‐allyl polyethylene glycol graft copolymer) for polyvinyl alcohol/polyethylene oxide composite system

“…Meanwhile, PVA nanofiber membranes prepared by electrospinning technology have a high specific surface area and large porosity, especially their microstructure is similar to the natural extracellular matrix. It can be applied in many fields such as textiles, 3 filters, 4 supercapacitors, 5 drug delivery, wound dressing, tissue engineering, and other biomedical fields 6,7 . However, the inherent properties of PVA limit its application in biomedicine and other fields to a certain extent.…”