Sustainable Carbon Nanofibers Derived from Cellulose Via Molten-Salt Method as Supercapacitor Electrode

Abstract

Carbon nanofibers have been paid much attention as supercapacitor electrode due to outstanding chemical stability, high electron transfer rate and large specific surface area. However, its preparation process is always stalemated in electrospinning, heat stabilization and carbonization. The problems of solvent pollution in electrospinning process, complex process and high energy consumption in carbonization process cannot be solved. Herein, carbon nanofibers have been innovatively prepared from nanofibrillated cellulose by molten-salt method. Molten salt effectively prevents hydrogen bonding, adhesion and agglomeration between fibers. The obtained carbon nanofibers remained developed branching structure and have a large specific surface area (899 m 2 g -1 ). The electrical properties were also tested in a three-electrode system. The specific capacitance is 145 F g -1 at the current density of 1 A g -1 . Low equivalent series resistance (1.07 Ω) indicates that it has high electrode conductivity. This study has taken into account energy conservation, environmental protection, recyclability and simplified preparation process, which has a very far-reaching significance for the industrial production of CNFs.