N-doped carbon nanofibers arrays as advanced electrodes for supercapacitors

Abstract

The advancement of supercapacitors largely relies on the innovation of electrode materials with high-rate performance and ultra-long cycling stability. In this work, unique N-doped nanofibers on carbon cloth (N-CNFs/CC) are prepared by an electrodeposition-annealing method for application in supercapacitors. The as-prepared N-doped nanofibers (N-CNFs) show diameters of 100−150 nm and cross-link with each other forming porous conductive network. Due to enhanced conductivity and reinforced structural stability, the N-CNFs/CC arrays are demonstrated with better electrochemical performance than CNFs/CC counterpart, including higher specific capacitance (195.2 F g-1 at a current density of 2.5 A g-1), excellent rate capability (80.5.% capacity retention as the rate increases from 2.5–20 A g-1) and good cycling stability (99.5.% retention after 10,000 cycles). These reinforced electrochemical properties are attributed to N-doped conductive architecture with faster ion/electron transfer paths and more active sites. Our findings may offer a new way for construction of advanced high-rate electrodes for energy storage.