Solvent-induced porosity control of carbon nanofiber webs for supercapacitor

A simple and scalable method is reported for fabricating a porosity-controlled carbon nanofibers with a skin–core texture by electrospinning a selected blend of polymer solutions. Simple thermal treatment of the electrospun nanofibers from solution blends of various compositions creates suitable ultramicropores on the surface of carbon nanofibers that can accommodate many ions, removing the need for an activation step. The intrinsic properties of the electrode (e.g., nanometre-size diameter, high specific surface area, narrow pore size distribution, tuneable porosity, shallow pore depth, and good ionic accessibility) enable construction of supercapacitors with large specific capacitance (130.7 F g−1), high power (100 kW kg−1), and energy density (15.0 Wh kg−1).

► Fabrication of porous CNF with a skin–core texture by electrospinning PAN and pitch blend solution.
► Selectively determination of the pore sizes of the CNFs by the solution compositions.
► Development of CNFs with ultramicropores and large surface areas for storing/delivering a large amount of ions.