Optimally designed PVP-enabled electrospun Co, Cu, and Ni substrate-based carbon nanomaterials: morphological attributes and electrochemical performance

The optimal fabrication of bead-free polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)-based electrospun mats (EMs) with minimum average fiber diameter (~ 0.22 µm) has been carried out using the Taguchi design of experiment (DOE) approach. Hydrated metallic acetate-loaded optimized PVP-based EMs were fabricated from respective colloidal dispersions and were subsequently carbonized to fabricate metal oxide/carbon nanomaterial (MO/CNM)-based active material for electrode application. Thermal, microstructural, and morphological characterizations indicated the presence of significant interactions between metallic salts and the PVP matrix, which in turn facilitated morphology (I_D/I_G) specific designing of carbon nanomaterial electrodes. The MO/CNM was also subjected to Raman, cyclic voltammetry (CV), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) characterization. Carbonized copper acetate-loaded PVP-based EMs (CuO/CNM) exhibited comparatively superior electrochemical performance than carbonized cobalt acetate and nickel acetate-loaded PVP-based EMs (Co₃O₄/CNM and NiO/CNM). Thus, the study demonstrates the optimal fabrication of metallic salt-loaded mats and the dependence of the electrochemical performance of the carbonaceous nanomaterials on their composition-specific morphological attributes, for designing engineered nanostructured materials for various functional applications such as sensors and energy storage devices.