Structure and electrochemical properties of electrospun carbon fiber composites containing graphene

Electrically conducting carbon nanofiber (CNF) composite mats are prepared by electrospinning blended solutions of graphene oxide and polyacrylonitrile (PAN) in N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), and their electrochemical properties are investigated as electrodes of supercapacitors. A graphene oxide concentration of 5 wt.% in a PAN polymer solution offers a large specific surface area and good conductivity after a carbonization process at 1000 °C. The supercapacitor electrode prepared with 5 wt.% graphene shows high specific capacitance, 146.62 F g−1, and high energy density, 14.83–19.44 W h kg−1, at power densities ranging from 400 to 20,000 W kg−1 in a 6 M KOH aqueous solution.