Nitrogen-doped Carbon Microfiber with Wrinkled Surface for High Performance Supercapacitors

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Developing advanced electrode materials is crucial for high-performance energy storage devices.
• Carbon-based materials offer promising properties but often require modification to enhance their electrochemical performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To fabricate nitrogen-doped carbon microfiber (NCMF) using a facile method.
• To investigate the electrochemical properties of NCMF as a binder-free electrode for electrical double-layer capacitors.

Main Methods:

• Co-assembly of natural silk and graphene oxide (GO) followed by thermal treatment.
• Characterization of the NCMF morphology and surface area (115 m²/g).
• Electrochemical testing of NCMF in electrical double-layer capacitors.

Main Results:

• NCMF exhibited a high capacitance of 196 F/g at 5 mV/s, significantly outperforming pristine carbon microfiber (55 F/g).
• Maintained 92 F/g capacitance at a high scan rate of 300 mV/s after 10,000 cycles.
• An all-solid-state supercapacitor based on NCMF achieved high energy density (≈22.7 μWh/cm²) and power density (≈10.26 mW/cm²).

Conclusions:

• The facile fabrication method yields NCMF with a crumpled surface and high surface area.
• NCMF demonstrates excellent electrochemical performance, making it a promising material for supercapacitors.
• The developed NCMF electrode offers a viable pathway for advanced energy storage solutions.