Energy Management Research Journal (EMRJ)

Research Article

Cellulose Nanofibers as Carbon Source for Rechargeable Batteries

Meltem Yanilmaz

Department of Textile Engineering, Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey

Submitted: July 24, 2019; Revised: August 24, 2019; Accepted: September 1, 2019.

Abstract

Carbon nanofibers have been studied as a promising electrode candidate for energy storage devices. However, expensive petroleum-based polyacrylonitrile (PAN) has been extensively used as carbon source in carbon fiber production. Here, cellulose acetate nanofibers were presented as low cost, environmentally friendly carbon source. Carbon nanofibers (CNFs) were produced by electrospinning of cellulose acetate followed by carbonization. In addition, TiO₂ nanoparticles were incorporated in order to improve electrochemical performance of Li-ion and Na-ion cells. Electrospraying/electrospinning approach was utilized to fabricate nanocomposite electrodes. The cell containing TiO₂/CNFs delivered the high specific capacities of 260 mAh/g and 150 mAh/g with high Coulombic efficiencies, respectively, in Li-ion and Na-ion batteries. These results prove that cellulose could be used as a cheap and green carbon source in rechargeable batteries and electrospraying/ electrospinning technique is a promising approach to develop nanostructured electrode materials with high capacity and good cycling performance.

Keywords

Carbon; Cellulose; Nanofibers.

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