ZrO2 nanoparticle decorated carbon nanofibers (ZrO2/CNF) were explored by electrospinning technique with ZrOCl2 center dot 8H(2)O and polyacrilonitrile (PAN) as precursors, and were considered as negative electrode for vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB). It is found that the ZrO2 nanoparticle uniformly embedded in the CNF not only increases the disorder of CNF, but also improves the catalytic activity of CNF, further resulting in good electrochemical activity. Specially, the sample with proper content of ZrO2 (CNF-ZrO2-18) shows superior electrochemical activity for the negative couple for VRF...
