Carbon nanofibrous electrode material from electrospinning of chlorella (microalgae) with polyacrylonitrile for practical high-performance supercapacitor

In recent years, carbon nanofibrous materials from electrospinning polyacrylonitrile (PAN) have been developed for freestanding electrode materials. However, there is still a large room to improve the electrochemical performance of this type of electrode material for supercapacitor purposes. In this research, an attempt is made to enhance the electrochemical performance of electrospun carbon nanofibrous material (ECNF) as an electrode for supercapacitor application by incorporating chlorella, a single-celled green freshwater microalga that grows naturally worldwide, in combination with carbon activation. The chlorella was mixed with PAN up to an equal amount in spinning solution and electrospun to nanofibrous material followed by carbonization and further activation. The investigation of electrochemical performance of chlorelladerived carbon nanofibrous electrode materials before and after activation (C-ECNF and C-ECNFa) indicated that chlorella is a superior natural resource as nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) dopant as well as mesopore promoter to develop practical high-performance carbon nanofibrous electrode material for supercapacitor application.