Grown Carbon Nanotubes on Electrospun Carbon Nanofibers as a 3D Carbon Nanomaterial for High Energy Storage Performance

Carbon hierarchical nanostructures have been widely applied because of their outstanding properties and large surface area. Future energy materials for applications, such as Li-ion, Li-sulfur, Li-air batteries, and supercapacitors require materials with high energy density and power capability. The preparation of three-dimensional (3D) carbon nanotubes (CNTs)-carbon nanofibers (CNFs) nanomaterials through a multi-step process has many difficulties. The aggregation, the high expense of CNTs, and the difficult conditions for synthesizing CNTs have pushed researchers to consider new methods. The direct growth of CNTs on CNFs via one-step electrospinning and a combined pyrolysis process is an efficient method for preparing 3D CNTs-CNFs, as demonstrated in the literature. Herein, the importance of the hybrid 3D CNTs-CNFs nanomaterials is reviewed, as well as their growth mechanisms, and the parameter influence on the morphology of grown CNTs. Moreover, the performance of the electrochemical energy storage for the hybrid CNTs grown on CNFs in the literature is reviewed and explained. Finally, the nanomaterials form the CNTs grown CNFs have great potential for various applications.