Application of Electrospun Nanofibers for Fabrication of Versatile and Highly Efficient Electrochemical Devices: A Review

Electrochemical devices convert chemical reactions into electrical energy or, vice versa, electricity into a chemical reaction. While batteries, fuel cells, supercapacitors, solar cells, and sensors belong to the galvanic cells based on the first reaction, electrolytic cells are based on the reversed process and used to decompose chemical compounds by electrolysis. Especially fuel cells, using an electrochemical reaction of hydrogen with an oxidizing agent to produce electricity, and electrolytic cells, e.g., used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, are of high interest in the ongoing search for production and storage of renewable energies. This review sheds light on recent developments in the area of electrospun electrochemical devices, new materials, techniques, and applications. Starting with a brief introduction into electrospinning, recent research dealing with electrolytic cells, batteries, fuel cells, supercapacitors, electrochemical solar cells, and electrochemical sensors is presented. The paper concentrates on the advantages of electrospun nanofiber mats for these applications which are mostly based on their high specific surface area and the possibility to tailor morphology and material properties during the spinning and post-treatment processes. It is shown that several research areas dealing with electrospun parts of electrochemical devices have already reached a broad state-of-the-art, while other research areas have large space for future investigations.