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Using renewable biomass precursors to develop high-performance carbon electrodes is a promising approach for the advancement of supercapacitors. This work proposes a feasible strategy to prepare self-supporting flexible porous carbon nanofibers by electrospinning and carbonizing the mixture of cuttlefish ink, polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). The impacts of cuttlefish ink precursor on the structure, elemental composition, and capacitance properties of carbon nanofibers have been studied. Herein, the unique structural advantage of cuttlefish ink can significantly optimize the porous structure of carbon nanofibers. Due to the hierarchical porous structure, large specific surface area, hollow channels and high nitrogen content, the carbon nanofibers offer a high specific capacitance of 364.8 F g−1 at 0.5 A g−1 current density, alongside desirable rate performance and cycle life. Furthermore, the carbon nanofiber electrode performs good mechanical flexibility. The flexible solid-state supercapacitor based on this electrode exhibits 14.1 Wh kg−1 energy density at 0.4 kW kg−1 power density, and 97.8% capacitance retention after 5000 cycles. The favorable capacitive properties make this carbon nanofiber material a potential candidate for supercapacitor electrodes. [Display omitted] • Electrospun porous carbon nanofibers (CPP–CNF) were prepared from cuttlefish ink. • CPP-CNF features hierarchical pores and hollow channels. • CPP-CNF is mechanically flexible with superior capacitive performance. • The flexible supercapacitor achieves high energy density and cycling stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon nanofibers from electrospun polymer nanofibers have received considerable attention. However, most of the carbon nanofibers with a surface area above 1000 m2/g were reported to have a supercapacitor electrode capacitance far below 350 F g−1. Herein, we report a novel carbon nanofibrous material that has a supercapacitor electrode capacitance as high as 394 F g−1 (1.0 A g−1). We used a polymer blend of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and novolac (NOC) as materials, to electrospin them into precursor nanofibers and subsequently carbonize the nanofibers into carbon nanofibers. The carbon nanofibers prepared had a specific surface area as high as 1468 m2 g−1 with a meso-micro pores (average pore size 2.2 nm) predominated porous structure. The carbon nanofiber electrodes after 10,000 cycles of charging and discharging at 1.0 A g−1 maintained the capacitance almost unchanged. At the optimal condition, the supercapacitor device made of the electrodes had an energy density as high as 13.6 Wh∙kg−1 (at 0.5 kW kg−1). The high capacitance value comes from the carbon nanofibers with a large surface area and a unique porous structure. The high inter-fiber interconnection contributes to high capacitance. This super-high surface area carbon may be useful for the development of high-performance supercapacitors and other energy devices. Image 1 • Carbon nanofibers are prepared from electrospun polyacrylonitrile/novolac. • They contain micro-mese pores with a surface area as high as 1468 m2 g−1. • Electrodes made from the carbon nanofibers show a capacitance of 394 F g−1. • High capacitance originates from the unique structure and large surface area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]