Composite carbon nanofiber anodes for na ion batteries

Abstract

Nanofibers are one of the most important nanomaterials and have many applications in diverse fields such as biomedical engineering, drug delivery, filtration, sensors, energy storage etc. due to their unique properties like high specific surface area, small diameters, uniform interconnected 3D porous structure and low weight. There are different types of techniques to produce nanofibers like self-assembly, drawing, melt-blowing, phase separation, electrospinning and centrifugal spinning. Due to special features of centrifugal spinning such as high production yield and safe production, it is one of the most promising methods to prepare nanofibers. In this technique, nanofibers are made by applying centrifugal force on polymer solution or melt by using a high-speed rotating spinneret which lead to form nanofibers on collectors. In centrifugal spinning method, the morphology of nanofibers is dependent on diverse processing parameters such as viscosity, surface tension, molecular structure, molecular weight, solution concentration, solvent structure, additive; and operational conditions such as rotational speed, feeding rate, nozzle diameter, and nozzle-collector distance. Energy and environment head the list of top global problems facing society in the twenty-first century. Nanotechnology is responding to these challenges by designing and fabricating functional nanofibers optimized for energy and environmental applications. Nanofiber materials have been extensively studied as constituent parts of energy conversion and storage devices. Lithium ion batteries (LIBs) are rechargeable batteries and have been widely used in different applications like portable electronic devices and electric vehicles due to their high energy density, however limited lithium sources lead to find another option. Production of sodium ion batteries (SIBs) are gaining great attention due to low-cost and high abundance of sodium resources. Rechargeable batteries consist of an anode, a cathode, an electrolyte and a separator. Conventional materials used as anode suffer from large volume expansion, leakage, pulverization and low conductivity whereas carbon nanofibers have been widely used in electrochemical energy storage devices because of their excellent conductivity, extremely large surface area, high porosity, mechanical flexibility and structural stability that will improve capacity and cycling performance when they are used as electrodes in sodium-ion batteries. The performance of these materials is greatly influenced by the material type; structure; mechanical, chemical, thermal stability and physical properties. For example, if the surface area and porosity increased, the permeation of the electrolyte increases, so the electrode can provide higher sodium storage capability and the electrode will have shorter transport length for sodium ions. Heteroatom doping is one of the best ways to increase the surface area and porosity of nanofibers so enhanced sodium ion insertion and desertion at high rates can be achieved. Until now, composite carbon nanofiber using various materials such as tin, iron, antimony and molybdenum have been widely investigated as the anode materials in SIBs, since they possess high theoretical capacity, environmental benignity, safety, and low cost. In the first part of the study; it was aimed to fabricate carbon nanofibers as anodes for sodium ion batteries via centrifugal spinning. PAN was used as carbon fiber precursor because of its high carbon yield, high thermal, chemical and mechanical properties. Also, PS was blended with PAN in order to increase the porosity of carbon nanofibers. Moreover, graphene with a two-dimensional honeycomb structure was used to improve the electrochemical performance of the LIBs and SIBs, due to its high theoretical specific capacity, large specific surface area, and good electronic conductivity. In addition, the effect of Molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) on performance and electrochemical capacity of LIBs and SIBs was investigated. PAN/PS/graphene polymer blend solution was prepared in DMF and centrifugally spun in order to obtain nanofibers. Nanofibers were fabricated at the rotational speed of 4000 rpm, feeding rate of 60 ml/h, with 0.5 mm nozzle diameter and 20 cm collector distance. After obtaining nanofibers, blend nanofibers were stabilized in air atmosphere at 280 ℃ for 2.5 h with a heating rate of 5 ℃/min and then carbonized in nitrogen atmosphere at 800 ℃ for 2 h with a heating rate of 2 ℃/min. Furthermore, MoS2 decorated graphene-containing porous carbon nanofibers were fabricated via hydrothermal synthesis. The morphology and average fiber diameter distribution were analyzed with SEM. Porous structure of the carbon nanofibers was observed via TEM images. XRD and Raman spectroscopy were used for structural characterization. Porous structure enhanced the electrochemical performance of electrodes. Furthermore, MoS2 decorated graphene included porous CNF improved the electrochemical capacity up to 860 mAh/g in Li-ion cells and 455 mAh/g in Na-ion cells with excellent cycling performance. In the second part of the study; it was aimed to fabricate carbon nanofibers by using water soluble polymers such as PVA and PVP. Considering environmental concerns, it is vital to fabricate carbon nanofibers from environmentally friendly materials. PVA/PVP nanofibers were fabricated via fast and safe centrifugal spinning. The effect of PVP content on the morphology and thermal properties of PVA/PVP blend nanofibers were studied by using SEM and DSC studies. Moreover, the effect of carbonization conditions including stabilization time, stabilization temperature, carbonization time, carbonization temperature on morphology and carbon yield was investigated.