Recent trends in the design and engineering of incorporated carbon nanofiber nanocomposites and their advanced applications – A review

Over the past few decades, carbon nanofibers (CNFs) have attracted attention in terms of technological development due to their remarkable mechanical and chemical characteristics as well as electrical conductivity. Currently, CNFs are being fabricated over electrospinning and catalytic approaches in two steps including stabilization and carbonization of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers, respectively. Lately, the medical and industrial sectors dealing with quite expensive nanofibrous materials which have less flexibility in the functionalization of their chemical and surface characteristics for specific applications. To eliminate these limitations, CNFs are being multi-functionalized in diverse forms. This article reviews the recent progress in the design and synthesis of CNFs and their industrial and biomedical applications. In this article, the main focus is to review the recent breakthroughs in the field of CNFs, the modification of structural and chemical characteristics of CNFs used for various commercial applications. Furthermore, a brief summary is provided for various inexpensive substitutes for the currently existing materials.