Structure and electrochemical properties of highly conductive and porous carbon nanofiber derived from inclusion complex of cyclodextrin-phenylsilane

Abstract

A new type of PAN/phenylsilane-based CNF (PPSCD) composite with inclusion complex (IC) is prepared by one-step electrospinning for high-performance electrode materials for supercapacitors. All three cyclodextrin phases (α-CD, β-CD and γ-CD) exhibit different capabilities for the formation of ICs that depend on the size/shape match and binding force between the host CD cavity and the guest molecule of phenylsilane (PS). The effect of the stronger binding and greater interaction of PS in the cavity of α-CD on the morphology and structural properties of the electrospun CNFs are investigated by using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and 29Si CP-MAS NMR. The inclusion of small PS molecules is more selective in α-CD, possibly due to stronger binding and greater interaction of PS in the cavity as compared to β- and γ-CD. The PPSα-CD electrode demonstrates superior specific capacitance (173 Fg−1 at a current density of 1 mAcm−2) and high energy density (22.0–8.0 Whkg−1 at power densities ranging from 400 to 10,000 Wk−1) in an aqueous solution. Therefore, the highly conductive PPSα-CD composite provides efficient transport of electrolyte ions and low resistance for charge diffusion in the electrolyte, thereby yielding good capacitive behavior.