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Highly porous carbon electrodes for supercapacitors with high energy storage performance were prepared by using a new precursor blend of aromatic polyimide (PI) and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF). Supercapacitor electrodes were prepared through the electrospinning and thermal treatment of the precursor blends of aromatic PI and PVDF. Microstructures of the carbonized PI/PVDF nanofibers were studied using Raman spectroscopy. Nitrogen adsorption/desorption measurements confirmed their high surface area and porosity, which is critical for supercapacitor performance. Energy storage performance was investigated and carbonized PI/PVDF showed a high specific capacitance of 283 F/g at 10 mV/s (37% higher than that of PI) and an energy density of 11.3 Wh/kg at 0.5 A/g (27% higher than that of PI) with high cycling stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Porous carbon nanofibers (CNFs) with high energy storage performance were fabricated with a single precursor polymer, 6FDA-TFMB, without the use of any pore-generating materials. 6FDA-TFMB was synthesized, electrospun, and thermally treated to produce binder-free CNF electrodes for electrochemical double-layer capacitors (EDLCs). Highly porous CNFs with a surface area of 2213 m2 g−1 were prepared by steam-activation. CNFs derived from 6FDA-TFMB showed rectangular cyclic voltammograms with a specific capacitance of 292.3 F g−1 at 10 mV s−1. It was also seen that CNFs exhibit a maximum energy density of 13.1 Wh kg−1 at 0.5 A g−1 and power density of 1.7 kW kg−1 at 5 A g−1, which is significantly higher than those from the common precursor polymer, polyacrylonitrile (PAN). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]