Electrochemical activity of triple-layered boron-containing carbon nanofibers with hollow channels in supercapacitors

Triple-layered boron-containing carbon nanofibers (CNFs) with hollow channels (PPMPB) are fabricated via stepby-step electrospinning for high-performance freestanding supercapacitors. Polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based CNFs in the first layer are chosen as the support layer material because of their excellent chemical stability and electrospinnability. The well-developed hollow channels provided fast ion diffusion in the second layer of PAN/poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)-based CNFs. The surface boron functional groups constituting the third layer contribute to the pseudo-capacitance. The symmetric supercapacitor of the PPMPB electrodes delivers a maximum specific capacitance of 180 Fg(-1) at 1 mAcm(-2), a high energy density of 22.38 Whkg(-1) at a power density of 400 Wkg(-1), and an excellent retention rate of 96% after 10,000 cycles in aqueous solution. The excellent electrochemical performance is attributed to the unique sandwich nanostructure with a three-layer structure, in which the factors representing the electrochemical properties of each layer do not interfere with each other. Therefore, a moderate amount of boron and the high surface area of the triple-layer structured PPMPB can be fully utilized as an excellent conductive network and electroactive sites, which is expected in a high-performance supercapacitor electrode.

Automated summary

The study developed triple-layered boron-containing carbon nanofibers with hollow channels for high-performance freestanding supercapacitors. The unique sandwich nanostructure showed excellent electrochemical performance with a maximum specific capacitance of 180 Fg(-1), high energy density of 22.38 Whkg(-1), and a retention rate of 96% after 10,000 cycles. This was achieved through the use of hollow channels for fast ion diffusion in the second layer and surface boron functional groups in the third layer.