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Carbon nanofiber (CNF) electrodes were prepared by using a new precursor polymer, poly (aery lonitrile-co-vinylimidazole), which shows effective cyclization of polymer chains during thermal treatments compared to a typical precursor, polyacrylonitrile (PAN). Raman spectroscopy confirmed successful conversion of the precursor polymer into carbon. Cyclic voltammetry results showed the CNF electrode derived from poly(acrylonitrile-c0-vinylimidazole) has superior electrochemical properties those from PAN. Also, pouch cells were assembled to examine energy storage performance of CNF electrodes, and a box-like cyclic voltammetry was obtained with a specific capacitance of 0.4F. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports a method of electrospinning mesoporous silica molecular sieve fibers. Electrospinning involves the application of electrical forces to produce fibers with diameters in the nanometer to micron range. This is a nonmechanical process for spinning fibers which has been well studied for various polymers and textiles. Polymer solutions used for electrospinning are usually made in volatile solvents and when fibers are spun using these solutions, drying of polymer fibers is quick and effective. However, in the case of molecular sieve materials, the solvents that could be used were limited to water and alcohol because of the necessity to hydrolyze the silica source and for it to condense around the micelles. In a basic gel preparation, the surfactant was first dissolved in ethanol under constant stirring and the required amount of water and 2M hydrogen chloride were added to the solution followed by the silica source. Upon application of the current, the gel forms a fine jet and produces very thin fibers. Different types of targets were employed including aluminum foil, acid treated glass and various Anapore filters. The molecular sieve fibers prepared were found to be well ordered and stable to calcination or template extraction.

This paper presents the abstract Super Tough Nanotube Composite Fibers for Artificial Muscle and Electronic Textile Applications by Alan B. Dalton, Steve Collins, Edgar Muñoz, Joselito M. Razal, Von Howard Ebron, John P. Ferraris, Jonathan N. Coleman, Bog G. Kim and Ray H. Baughman.