| Abstract | Carbons with valuable electrochemical characteristics are among the most convenient electrode materials used for energy storage. At the moment, their production is mostly reliant on unsustainable fossil fuels. A preferential sustainable production of enhanced carbonaceous electrodes can be achieved with more extensive utilization of abundant renewable resources instead of fossils. In this study, nitrogen-doped carbon nanofibers (CNFs) were synthesized from cellulose, the most abundant renewable resource, via consecutive steps of cellulose acetate electrospinning, subsequent deacetylation to cellulose, impregnation with nitrogen-containing additive (ammonium chloride), and carbonization. Results of material characterization showed that the carbonization of functionalized cellulose samples led to formation of CNFs doped with 4-5.6 at.% of nitrogen. In comparison with pristine CNFs N-doped samples had a slightly lower specific surface area, but higher conductivity and hydrophilicity. Moreover, electrochemical measurements indicated that the enhanced N-doped materials had about 2.5 times higher specific capacitance which was increasing throughout 1000 charge-discharge cycles. These results suggest that nitrogen doping method used in this study has a positive pseudocapacitive effect on the electrochemical performance of carbonized cellulose materials. |
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