Free-standing ultra-thin carbon nanofiber films with controllable thickness for lithium ion batteries

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Thin and porous anode materials enable short ion migration distances and high-rate performance. However, the current freestanding anode materials are too thick (typically around 100 μm) for high-rate lithium ion batteries (LIBs). Here, we have developed a facile and scalable process to synthesize ultra-thin (<400 nm) freestanding films. In comparison to other chemical and physical deposition methods that yield thin films (<500 nm), our freestanding films do not require the substrate material, achieving a 100 % loading of active material. Our ultra-thin carbon nanofiber films exhibit an exceptional specific capacity of 599 mAh/g even after 10,000 cycles at a current density of 10 A/g. Compared to thick carbon nanofiber films, the utilization of ultra-thin carbon nanofiber films as anode materials exhibits a remarkable enhancement of more than tenfold in cycling performance