Hydrothermal synthesis of manganese oxide encapsulated multiporous carbon nanofibers for supercapacitors

Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) of biomass to produce one-dimensional carbon materials with hierarchical pores is of significant importance. Here, we fabricate composites of MnOx-encapsulated multiporous carbon nanofibers (M-MCNFs) from naturally available carbohydrates through a dopamine-assisted HTC/ templating process. The introduction of dopamine aids in the formation of the morphology of carbon nanofibers (CNFs) by enhancing the interactions between the hard-templates and carbohydrates. The chosen cryptomelane hard-templates, which are superior to traditional hard-templates, are converted into Mn3O4nanoparticles embedded in multiporous CNFs (MCNFs), eliminating the need for tedious post deposition procedures to introduce redox active sites. Hence, the obtained hybrids with large surface areas, hierarchical pores, and unique structures show great potential in supercapacitors. This economic and sustainable strategy paves a new way for synthesizing MCNFs and metal oxide-encapsulated MCNFs composites from biomass. [Figure not available: see fulltext.] © 2016, Tsinghua University Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.