Ultrafine self-N-doped porous carbon nanofibers with hierarchical pore structure utilizing a biobased chitosan precursor

Ultrafine porous carbon nanofiber network with similar to 40 nm fiber diameter is realized for the first time utilizing a biobased polymer as carbon precursor. A simple one-step carbonization procedure is applied to convert the electrospun chitosan/poly(ethylene oxide) nanofibers to self-N-doped ultrafine hierarchically porous carbon nanofiber interconnected web. The pore formation process is governed by the immiscible nature of the two polymers and the sacrificial character of poly(ethylene oxide) with low carbon yield at the carbonization temperature (800 degrees C). The obtained porous scaffold has a high specific surface area (564 m(2) g(-1)), high micro (0.22 cm(3) g(-1)) as well as meso/macropore volume (0.28 cm(3) g(-1)). Structural analysis indicates high graphitic content and the existence of turbostratic carbon typical for carbon fibers derived from otherwise synthetic polymer precursors. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirms the presence of an N-doped structure with dominating graphitic N, together with a smaller amount of pyridinic N. The prepared electrode exhibits good electrochemical performance as a supercapacitor device. The excellent charge storage characteristics are attributed to the unique ultra fine hierarchical nanoarchitecture and the interconnected N-doped carbon structure. This green material holds great promise for the realization of more sustainable high-performance energy storage devices. (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

A novel ultrafine porous carbon nanofiber network was successfully fabricated using a biobased polymer as carbon precursor. The interconnected N-doped carbon structure in the nanofiber network leads to excellent charge storage characteristics, making it a promising material for high-performance energy storage devices.