Synthesis of in-situ high nitrogen-doped helical carbonaceous nanofibers toward high-performance lithium-ion batteries

The great demand for high-power lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) has spurred extensive research on carbonaceous electrode materials. In this work, a novel high nitrogen-doped helical carbonaceous nanofiber derived from pyrolytic resins was fabricated. Helical m-phenylenediamine-formaldehyde resin nanotubes were prepared via a sol-gel duplication method using a chiral amphiphile as the template. Then, the obtained resin nanotubes were subject to carbonize at 600 °C under Ar atmosphere, forming helical carbonaceous nanofibers with N content of 12.4 wt%. The inner tunnels were disappeared owing to the thermal contraction. Wide angle X-ray diffraction and Raman spectrum analysis verify that the obtained nanofibers were amorphous carbon predominantly. The electrochemical characterization reveals that the in-situ nitrogen-doped carbonaceous nanofibers exhibit high specific capacity, together with long cycle time and excellent rate capability.