Nitrogen-Doped Activated Hollow Carbon Nanofibers with Controlled Hierarchical Pore Structures for High-Performance, Binder-Free, Flexible Supercapacitor Electrodes

Abstract

Carbon nanofibers (CNFs) are a fascinating electrode material for energy storage devices due to their one-dimensionality, interconnected networks, and chemical stability. However, a relatively low specific surface area of CNFs hinders their use as supercapacitor electrodes. Here, nitrogen-doped hollow CNFs with hierarchical pore structures are prepared via electrospinning of core–shell polymer nanofibers and subsequent carbonization and activation under an ammonia atmosphere. Hierarchical pore structures with micro-, meso-, and macropores are controlled by an ammonia etching effect during the carbonization of polymer nanofibers. In addition, a hollow structure in CNFs is obtained by thermal decomposition of the core polymer during the carbonization/activation. The nitrogen-doped activated hollow CNFs (ahCNFs) exhibited an exceptionally high specific surface area of 3618 m2/g with increased mesopores. Thus, a symmetric supercapacitor using ahCNFs electrodes with a 6 M KOH aqueous electrolyte provides a high specific capacitance of 208 F/g at a current density of 1 A/g, a high energy density of 7.22 W h/kg at a power density of 502 W/kg, a good rate capability, and cyclic stability. Moreover, the freestanding ahCNFs are used for flexible supercapacitor electrodes without any binder. This work demonstrates the great potential of highly porous ahCNFs for high-performance energy storage devices.