A method for producing conductive graphene biopolymer nanofibrous fabrics by exploitation of an ionic liquid dispersant in electrospinning

Owing to its high conductivity, graphene has been incorporated into polymeric nanofibers to create advanced materials for flexible electronics, sensors and tissue engineering. Typically, these graphene-based nanofibers are prepared by electrospinning synthetic polymers, whereas electrospun graphene-biopolymer nanofibers have been rarely reported due to poor compatibility of graphene with biopolymers. Herein, we report a new method for the preparation of graphene-biopolymer nanofibers using the judicious combination of an ionic liquid and electrospinning. Cellulose acetate (CA) has been used as the biopolymer, graphene oxide (GO) nanoparticles as the source of graphene and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([BMIM]Cl) as the ionic liquid (IL) to create CA-[BMIM]Cl-GO nanofibers by electrospinning for the first time. Moreover, we developed a new route to convert CA-[BMIM]Cl-GO nanofibers to reduced GO nanofibers using hydrazine vapor under ambient conditions to enhance the conductivity of the hybrid nanofibers. The graphene sheets were shown to be uniformly incorporated in the hybrid nanofibers and only 0.43 wt% of GO increase the conductivity of CA-[BMIM]Cl nanofibers by more than four orders of magnitude (from 2.71× 10−7 S/cm to 5.30 × 10−3 S/cm). This ultra-high enhancement opens up a new route for conductive enhancement of biopolymer nanofibers to be used in smart (bio) electronic devices

Electrochemical Evaluation of Directly Electrospun Carbide-Derived Carbon-Based Electrodes in Different Nonaqueous Electrolytes for Energy Storage Applications

This study focuses on the electrochemical behavior of thin-layer fibrous carbide-derived carbon (CDC) electrospun electrodes in commercial and research and development stage organic-solvent and ionic liquid (IL) based electrolytes. The majority of earlier published works stated various electrolytes with asymmetric cells of powder-based pressure-rolled (PTFE), or slurry-cast electrodes, were significantly different from the presented CDC-based fibrous spun electrodes. The benefits of the fibrous structure are relatively low thickness (20 µm), flexibility and mechanical durability. Thin-layered durable electrode materials are gaining more interest and importance in mechanically more demanding applications such as the space industry and in wearable devices, and need to achieve a targeted balance between mechanical, electrical and electrochemical properties. The existing commercial electrode technologies lack compatibility in such applications due to their limited mechanical properties and high cost. The test results showed that the widest potential window dU ≤ 3.5 V was achieved in 1.5 M 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazoliumbis(trifluoromethyl-sulfonyl)imide (EMIm-TFSI) solution in acetonitrile (ACN). Gravimetric capacitance reached 105.6 F g−1 for the positively charged electrode. Cycle-life results revealed stable material capacitance and resistance over 3000 cycles

Electrospun Polyacrylonitrile‐Derived Co or Fe Containing Nanofibre Catalysts for Oxygen Reduction Reaction at the Alkaline Membrane Fuel Cell Cathode

International audienc

Electrospun Polyacrylonitrile‐Derived Co or Fe Containing Nanofibre Catalysts for Oxygen Reduction Reaction at the Alkaline Membrane Fuel Cell Cathode

International audienc