Ammonium chloride promoted synthesis of carbon nanofibers from electrospun cellulose acetate

Nitrogen-doped carbon nanofibrous mats with the fiber diameters between 70 and 400 nm were synthesized from regenerated cellulose impregnated with ammonium chloride. Acting as a flame retardant, ammonium chloride provided the thermal stabilization of incompletely regenerated cellulose fibers, thus allowing their successful carbonization. Besides that, it improved the carbon yield from 13% to 20%. The method of carbon nanofibers (CNF) synthesis reported here is technologically simple and environmentally friendly since it significantly shortens the regeneration step and does not require water consumption for washing of the precursor fibers from deacetylation agents. More than that, introduction of nitrogen via NH4Cl impregnation led to an increase in the electrical conductivity of the obtained CNF samples, a fact which can make them useful for advanced electrochemical applications. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.