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Preasphaltene (PA) in coal liquefaction residues is a major precursor for synthesizing carbon nanofibers film by electrospinning, stabilization and carbonization. In this study, terephthalic acid (TPA) was used as an additive in a spinning solution to improve the nanostructural and electrochemical performance of PA based carbon nanofibers (PACF). The effect of TPA on the stabilization, carbon nanostructural characteristics and electrochemical performance of the supercapacitors for PACF were characterized and evaluated. The results showed that TPA could promote the oxidation of PA and decelerate the weight loss rate of the stabilized fibers, affording a good fiber morphology and satisfactory flexibility. Furthermore, the introduction of TPA facilitated the generation of pore structures in carbon nanofibers, which heightened the specific surface area, resulting in an elevated specific capacity (204 F g−1 at 1 A g−1) alongside excellent cycling stability (97.5 % capacitance retention after 10,000 cycles at 2 A g−1). [Display omitted] • The effect of TPA on the stabilization of PA/PAN film was investigated. • The influence of TPA in nanostructural characteristics of PACF was evaluated. • TPA improved the pore structures and enhanced specific surface area of PACF. • TPACF-3 exhibits good electrochemical performance for SCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, terephthalic acid (TPA) is chosen as a plasticizer and pore-forming additive to promote the stabilization and improve the electrochemical performance of polyacrylonitrile based carbon nanofibers film (PANCF). The plasticizing mechanism of TPA is systematically investigated. Meanwhile, the effect of TPA on the nanostructural characteristic and electrochemical performance is also studied. The introduction of TPA could promote the oxidation, cyclization and dehydrogenation reaction among PAN molecules by the forming of anhydride compounds during the stabilization. TPA modified PANCF (T-PANCF) exhibits better flexibility, smaller diameter, higher weight residual, more defective sites, suitable heteroatom content and larger specific surface area and pore volume compared to those of PANCF. When used as the electrode material for supercapacitors, T-PANCF shows a high specific capacitance of 182 F g−1 at 1 A g−1 and 81 % capacitance retention of it at 100 A g−1. This method is very fascinating for preparing high performance PANCF due to its simple operation and short production time. [Display omitted] • The effect of TPA on the stabilization of PAN film was investigated. • The influence of TPA in nanostructural characteristics of PANCF was evaluated. • TPA promoted the formation of pore structures and enhanced S BET of PANCF. • T-PANCF exhibited good electrochemical performance for SCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]