Carbon Nanofiber-Based Functional Nanomaterials for Sensor Applications

Abstract

Carbon nanofibers (CNFs) exhibit great potentials in the fields of materials science, biomedicine, tissue engineering, catalysis, energy, environmental science, and analytical science due to their unique physical and chemical properties. Usually, CNFs with flat, mesoporous, and porous surfaces can be synthesized by chemical vapor deposition and electrospinning techniques with subsequent chemical treatment. Meanwhile, the surfaces of CNFs are easy to modify with various materials to extend the applications of CNF-based hybrid nanomaterials in multiple fields. In this review, we focus on the design, synthesis, and sensor applications of CNF-based functional nanomaterials. The fabrication strategies of CNF-based functional nanomaterials by adding metallic nanoparticles (NPs), metal oxide NPs, alloy, silica, polymers, and others into CNFs are introduced and discussed. In addition, the sensor applications of CNF-based nanomaterials for detecting gas, strain, pressure, small molecule, and biomacromolecules are demonstrated in detail. This work will be beneficial for the readers to understand the strategies for fabricating various CNF-based nanomaterials, and explore new applications in energy, catalysis, and environmental science.

Polyacrylonitrile Nanofiber Optimization as Precursor of Carbon Nanofibers for Supercapacitors

“…Carbon nanofibers are nanomaterials with nanoscale diameter that have been used in many application areas such as supercapacitors, rechargeable batteries, dye-sensitized solar cells, catalysis, sensors, and adsorption-desorption membranes as well as in the biomedical field. Therefore, they have attracted great attention in recent years [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8].…”

Carbon nanofiber-based three-dimensional nanomaterials for energy and environmental applications

“…[1][2][3][4] CNF is one of the important carbon nanomaterials that have been used widely, which has similar structure and properties to CNTs, but it has easier production, low cost, and improved functions. 5,6 CNFs reveal smooth, porous, hollow, helical, and stacked-cup structures, and they have good thermal conductivity, electric conductivity, and high specific surface area, which make them excellent nanoscale building blocks for the synthesis of CNF-based functional nanomaterials. 7 In order to produce CNFs, several methods, such as electrospinning, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), and templated synthesis, have been widely utilized.…”

Carbon Nanohybrids for Advanced Electronic Applications

“…Thus, they can be used to create functional hybrid CNF‐based nanomaterials for numerous advanced electronic applications. [ 118 ] The hybrid formations of CNTs and CNFs not only dramatically improve the mechanical performance of hybrid materials, but also enhance the interfacial cohesive forces within the matrix. [ 119,120 ] These hybrid structures are responsible for the extraordinary properties of CNTs in CNFs.…”