Synthesis of microporous carbon nanofibers with high specific surface using tetraethyl orthosilicate template for supercapacitors

Microporous carbon nanofibers (CNFs) with a high specific surface area were prepared by sol-gel, electrospun, carbonization and pickling processes. Resol type phenolic resin (PF) acted as carbon source, tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) worked as template and polyvinyl-pyrrolidone worked as spinning additives. The specific surface area and total pore volume of the CNFs were increased obviously with the increased amount of TEOS. A high specific area of 2164 m2 g−1, high microporosity and relatively narrow pore size distribution were achieved. The electrochemical performance was evaluated in 6 M KOH aqueous solution. The microporous CNFs exhibited outstanding electrochemical performance as binder-free electrode of supercapacitors, including a high specific capacitance (316 F g−1 at 0.2 A g−1), considerable rate performance (210 F g−1 at 20 A g−1) and good cycle stability (95% after cycling 1000 times). The microporous CNFs were promising electrode materials for high-performanced supercapacitors.