Polymer/block copolymer blending system as the compatible precursor system for fabrication of mesoporous carbon nanofibers for supercapacitors

In this article, mesoporous carbon nanofibers electrode material is reported using polymer/block copolymer blending system as the precursor. The method combines electrospinning process and high temperature carbonization. In the spinning solution, the polymer of polyacrylonitrile is used as precursor, and the block copolymer of polyacrylic acid-b-polyacrylonitrile-b-polyacrylic acid is used as pore forming additive. Abundant pores are formed due to the sacrifice of the thermoplastic chains in the block copolymers during pre-oxidation and thermal annealing process. The effect of block copolymer content in system on electrochemical performance is investigated. The obtained mesoporous carbon nanofibers display a maximum specific capacitance of 256.3 F g(-1) in KOH electrolyte when the amount of the block copolymer is 0.6 g. Furthermore, symmetrical supercapacitor assembled with mesoporous carbon nanofibers exhibits a maximum specific capacitance of 22.34 F g(-1) and a capacitance retention of 90% after 80, 000 cycles.