Free-standing porous carbon fibrous mats and applications thereof

Abstract

A method of producing a porous carbon composite fibrous mats formed of a network of carbon fibers incorporated with porous carbon particles. The method includes electrospinning a polymer solution to form a porous layer of polymeric fibers and the polymeric fibers are doped with a precursor of conductive metal particles, where the polymer solution includes a polymer and the precursor of the conductive metal particles, electrospraying a metal organic framework suspension onto the porous layer of polymeric fibers, where the metal organic framework suspension includes metal organic framework particles, repeating the electrospinning and electrospraying in an alternating manner to form a porous network of polymeric fibers incorporated with the metal organic framework particles, and heating the porous network of polymeric fibers incorporated with the metal organic framework particles to form the porous carbon composite fibrous mats.

1 . A porous carbon composite fibrous mats comprising:
 a network of carbon fibers incorporated with porous carbon particles, wherein the carbon fibers are doped with conductive metal particles, and wherein the porous carbon particles are doped with nano-sized metal particles derived from a metal organic framework.   
     
     
         2 . The porous carbon composite fibrous mats of  claim 1 , wherein the porous carbon particles each has a diameter ranging from 10 nm to 10 μm. 
     
     
         3 . The porous carbon composite fibrous mats of  claim 1 , wherein the conductive metal particles are disposed on or embedded in the carbon fibers. 
     
     
         4 . The porous carbon composite fibrous mats of  claim 1 , wherein the conductive metal particles comprise iron, copper, tin, or titanium. 
     
     
         5 . The porous carbon composite fibrous mats of  claim 1 , wherein the metal organic framework comprises a zeolitic imidazolate framework, and wherein the zeolitic imidazolate framework comprises zeolitic imidazolate framework-67 or zeolitic imidazolate framework-8. 
     
     
         6 . The porous carbon composite fibrous mats of  claim 1 , wherein each of the porous carbon particles doped with the nano-sized metal particles has a larger diameter than each of the nano-sized metal particles doped thereon, wherein the nano-sized metal particles each has a diameter in the range of 5 nm to 200 nm. 
     
     
         7 . The porous carbon composite fibrous mats of  claim 1 , further comprising a porous additive, wherein the porous additive comprises a metal organic framework, porous coordination polymers, active carbon particles, carbon spheres, zeolites, molecular sieves, microporous phosphates, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         8 . The porous carbon composite fibrous mats of  claim 1 , wherein the porous carbon composite fibrous mats are operable for gas adsorption in food packaging, or as a gas scavenger in food packaging, or as an electrode in electrochemical treatment of water, or as an electrode for energy storage or energy conversion.