Free-standing, binder-free polyacrylonitrile/asphalt derived porous carbon fiber - A high capacity anode material for sodium-ion batteries

A new kind of porous carbon nanofiber networks has been synthesized via electrospinning technique by using polyacrylonitrile and asphalt as carbon sources and Pluronic F127 as soft template. After stabilization and carbonization treatment, the obtained fabrics were directly utilized as self-supported anode materials for sodium-ion batteries. This kind of porous carbon nanofiber exhibits excellent sodium-ion storage properties, with a reversible capacity of 210 mA h g−1 at current density of 500 mA g−1 after 1000 cycles.