Effect of Calcining Temperature on Electrospun Carbon Nanofibers for Supercapacitor

This research evaluated the electrochemical performance of electrospun carbon nanofibers (CNFs) synthesized through a combination of the electrospinning technique and calcination at three different temperatures. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to determine the patterns and internal morphologies of the fibers, with the results indicating that the fiber diameter changed with the temperature. X-ray diffraction (XRD) showed the characteristics of the amorphous carbon. Additionally, the N2 adsorption/desorption method provided the values of specific areas, and the three-electrode system showed the electrochemical properties when the experiment was carried out in aqueous electrolyte. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) provided the thermal characteristics of the as-spun materials, which could be helpful in determining the right temperature for further calcination. At the highest calcination temperature, the CNFs achieved the best specific capacitance of 173 F g−1 at 0.5 A g−1 with an energy density of 23 mWh g−1, power density of 245 mW g−1, and good cycling stability of 78% after 1000 cycles.