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Electrospun porous carbon nanofibers as lithium ion battery anodes

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Abstract

Porous carbon nanofibers were fabricated by electrospinning in a precursor solution containing polyacrylonitrile (PAN), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), and N,N-dimethylformamide. During thermal treatment, PMMA decomposition caused nanofibers to transform from a solid to a porous structure. Removal of PMMA also decreased the fiber diameter and increased the pore volume of the carbon nanofibers, resulting in a substantial increase in specific surface area. We used these web-type fiber films directly without a binder as an anode for lithium ion batteries. The electrochemical performance of these 5:5 PAN/PMMA-derived carbon nanofibers exhibited a discharge capacity of 446 mAh/g under a current density of 150 mA/g, which was approximately two times that of the neat PAN-derived carbon nanofibers. Additionally, the discharge capacity retention of the 5:5 PAN/PMMA-derived carbon nanofibers was nearly the same as that of the neat PAN-derived carbon nanofibers, indicating favorable cycle stability.

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Acknowledgments

This work is financially supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology in Taiwan under Grant No. 102-2221-E-006-018-MY3 and the Technology Development Program for Academia No. 103-EC-17-A-08-S1-204 by Ministry of Economic Affairs in Taiwan.

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  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, No. 1, University Road, Tainan City, 701, Taiwan

    Yi-Te Peng & Chieh-Tsung Lo

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  1. Yi-Te Peng
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Correspondence to Chieh-Tsung Lo.

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Peng, YT., Lo, CT. Electrospun porous carbon nanofibers as lithium ion battery anodes. J Solid State Electrochem 19, 3401–3410 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10008-015-2976-7

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