Nitrogen-Doped Carbon Nanocoil Array Integrated on Carbon Nanofiber Paper for Supercapacitor Electrodes

Integrating a nanostructured carbon array on a conductive substrate remains a challenging task that presently relies primarily on high-vacuum deposition technology. To overcome the problems associated with current vacuum techniques, we demonstrate the formation of an N-doped carbon array by pyrolysis of a polymer array that was electrochemically grown on carbon fiber paper. The resulting carbon array was investigated for use as a supercapacitor electrode. In-depth surface characterization results revealed that the microtextural properties, surface functionalities, and degree of nitrogen incorporated into the N-doped carbon array can be delicately controlled by manipulating carbonization temperatures. Furthermore, electrochemical measurements showed that subtle changes in these physical properties resulted in significant changes in the capacitive behavior of the N-doped carbon array. Pore structures and nitrogen/oxygen functional groups, which are favorable for charge storage, were formed at low carbonization temperatures. This result showed the importance of having a comprehensive understanding of how the surface characteristics of carbon affect its capacitive performance. When utilized as a substrate in a pseudocapacitive electrode material, the N-doped carbon array maximizes capacitive performance by simultaneously achieving high gravimetric and areal capacitances due to its large surface area and high electrical conductivity.