Issue 21, 2024

A general metal acetate-assisted alcohol thermal strategy to fabricate flexible carbon nanofiber films for supercapacitors

Abstract

Flexible carbon nanofiber films (CNFs) have drawn tremendous attention recently due to their fascinating properties. However, CNFs prepared by conventional methods are fragile and easily broken. Therefore, a general approach for synthesizing flexible CNFs is urgently needed. Herein, we report a metal acetate-assisted alcohol thermal (MAA) method for the preparation of flexible CNFs. The MAA is a general and scalable method which can overcome the shortcomings of the pre-oxidation method, and more than 15 different flexible CNFs are successfully prepared. In this method, a polyacrylonitrile (PAN) film is first prepared through an electrostatic spinning process, and then a cyclized polyacrylonitrile (CPAN) film with a high-temperature-resistant trapezoidal structure is formed after MAA treatment. The unique structure of the CPAN will help in maintaining its flexibility to produce a flexible CNF during carbonization at an elevated temperature. To explore their potential in flexible devices, a supercapacitor made of flexible CNF-Zn (the specific surface area is 540 m2 g−1; the ID/IG ratio is 0.94) is investigated, and it shows an energy density of 11.5 W h kg−1 at 500 W kg−1 and has a capacitance retention rate of 97.2% even after 10 000 charge–discharge cycles. Our findings demonstrate that the MAA method could not only prepare flexible CNFs for energy storage devices, but also has potential application prospects in other fields.

Graphical abstract: A general metal acetate-assisted alcohol thermal strategy to fabricate flexible carbon nanofiber films for supercapacitors

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Research Article
Submitted
06 aug 2024
Accepted
20 sep 2024
First published
21 sep 2024

Inorg. Chem. Front., 2024,11, 7437-7450

A general metal acetate-assisted alcohol thermal strategy to fabricate flexible carbon nanofiber films for supercapacitors

W. Song, K. Wang, X. Lian, F. Zheng, C. Xu and H. Niu, Inorg. Chem. Front., 2024, 11, 7437 DOI: 10.1039/D4QI02004A

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements