Template‐Assisted Electrospinning of Bubbled Carbon Nanofibers as Binder‐Free Electrodes for High‐Performance Supercapacitors

Comparing the performance of recently reported electrospun carbon nanofiber (CNF)‐based supercapacitors, which use binders, we are reporting a binder‐free high‐performance supercapacitor based on porous bubbled surface carbon nanofibers (BCNFs). BCNFs have been synthesized by using a KIT‐6 silica template‐assisted electrospinning process, and they exhibit a high discharge specific capacitance of 287 F g −1 (79.7 mAh g −1 ). Brunauer−Emmett−Teller and FESEM analyses reveal that BCNFs have a large accessible surface area (593 m 2 g −1 ) and well‐developed pore structures, leading to a high specific capacitance value. Furthermore, a BCNF supercapacitor exhibits good cyclic stability with improved capacity retention in aqueous electrolyte. The use of electrospinning and a hard template method for the synthesis avoids the use of aggressive materials and complicated activations, thereby making it an industry‐compatible process for large‐scale production. The present study, demonstrating the successful synthesis of BCNFs, is a major step ahead in the direction of developing new materials for binder‐free supercapacitors, which hold enormous potential for high‐performance energy storage devices.