A review on electrospun polyvinylpyrrolidone-derived carbon composite nanofibers as advanced functional materials for energy storage applications and beyond

The growing energy demand leads to the excessive combustion of fossil fuels and contributes to CO₂-induced global warming. On the other hand, new sustainable energy solutions require the development of advanced functional materials. Carbon composite nanofibers are attractive functional materials for a wide range of applications, including energy storage and conversion, sensing, catalysis, water filtration, drug delivery, gas separation, and tissue engineering, owing to their unique properties, such as a high surface area to volume ratio, excellent chemical resistance, superior electrical and thermal conductivity, and mechanical stability. Electrospinning coupled with heat treatment is an inexpensive and straightforward technique that allows the homogeneous mixing of precursor salts at the molecular level, easy functionalization of fibers, a combination of materials, and deposition of fibers onto other substrates. This review focuses on polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as a sole carbon source without any additional polymers for composite nanofibers prepared by electrospinning with subsequent heat treatments. We discuss the main production parameters affecting the morphology and structure of prepared composites and summarize them by applications. The advantages and challenges of using PVP as a carbon source are highlighted by classifying the designed materials as electrodes for lithium-ion batteries and other energy storage systems, semiconductors, and beyond.