John TEXTER1,2,3, Feng YAN1, Qi LI1
1Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Suzhou, China
2Coating Research Institute, School of Engineering, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, United States
3Strider Research Corporation, Rochester, United States
Aqueous thermodynamically-stable dispersions of carbon nanotubes and graphene, respectively, at 6-17% by weight are prepared liquid phase exfoliation using polymerized (surfactant) ionic liquid stabilizers. These dispersions provide ultra-high thermal conductivity and heterostructured and high specific surface area coatings. Such advanced coatings enable development of a platform for catalytic membranes and electrocatalytic electrodes derived by electrospinning (ES) and further extend the utility and potential of 2D materials and advanced composites based on 2D materials. We demonstrate how networks made by ES can be grown beyond inherent 1D fibers to provide 2D-heterostructured networks as supports and electrodes. Two classes of such networks are presented (Figure 1): (1) randomly oriented graphene flakes connected by nanofibers; (2) 2D-microscale membranes composing mesoscale networks of MWCNTs connected by nanofibers. Morphology tuning and densification, and modulation of ionic and electrical conductivities by chemical doping, chemical deposition, and anion exchange are described. Applications of such coatings to catalysis, electrocatalysis, and energy devices (batteries, fuel cells, and dye-sensitized solar cells) are discussed.