Carbon nanofibers consisting of Poly(acrylonitrile) (PAN) and enzymatic hydrolysis lignin (EHL) were prepared in the present study by electrospinning followed by stabilization in air and carbonization in N₂ environment. The morphology and structure of the electrospun carbon nanofibers were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), Roman, and the electrochemical performances were then evaluated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge-discharge (GCD), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS)methods. When the amount of EHL was 60 wt. %, the as-prepared nanofibers have the smallest average diameter of 172 nm and the largest BET specific surface area of 675 m²/g without activating treatment. The carbon nanofiber electrode showed excellent specific capacitance of 216.8 F/g at the current density of 1 A/g, maintaining 88.8% capacitance retention after 2000 cycles. Moreover, the carbon nanofiber electrode containing 60 wt. % exhibited a smaller time constant (0.5 s) in comparison to that of carbon nanofibers in literatures. These findings suggest the potential use of EHL could be a practical as a sustainable alternative for PAN in carbon electrode manufacturing.
Keywords: EHL; carbon fiber; electrochemical performance; electrospinning.