Facile synthesis of graphite-reduced graphite oxide core-sheath fiber via direct exfoliation of carbon fiber for supercapacitor application

A graphite-reduced graphite oxide (rGO) core-sheath structured fiber was synthesized through chemical exfoliation of graphitic carbon fiber. The graphitic carbon fiber was oxidized to form a graphite-graphite oxide core-sheath fiber and followed by thermal exfoliation to form a graphite-rGO core-sheath fiber. The core-sheath fiber with a three-dimensionally (3D) structured rGO sheath possesses a high surface area and pore size around 5.5 nm. A two-electrode supercapacitor constructed with this core-sheath fiber-based paper exhibited a high specific capacitance (140 F g^-1 at a current density of 1 A g^-1), high power density of 45 kW/kg, and good cycling stability (10% capacity loss after 3000 cycles). The surface area normalized capacitance reached as high as 59.4 μF cm^-2, indicating the effective use of surface area. The low equivalent series resistance value of 0.45 ohm in the Nyquist plot indicates an extremely small resistance between the graphite core and rGO sheet sheath. The hierarchical three-dimensional structure enables one to maximize the advantages of both graphite and rGO sheets. The 3D-structured rGO sheets sheath with regular pore structure is favorable for ion diffusion due to its interconnected porous system, while the graphite core provides an electron transport pathway with high conductivity.