Electrochemical characteristics of activated carbon nanofiber electrodes for supercapacitors

In this work, poly(amide imide) solutions in dimethylformamide were electrospun into webs consisting of 350 nm ultrafine nanofibers. These nanofiber webs were used to produce activated carbon nanofibers (ACNFs), through stabilization and carbonisation–activation processes. Experimental results indicated that ACNFs activated at 800 °C afforded the highest specific surface area but low mesopore volume. The high specific surface area, mainly due to the micropores, introduced maximum specific capacitance at low current density (150 F g−1 at 10 mA g−1). Elevating the volume fraction of mesopores gave maximum specific capacitance at high current density (100 F g−1 at 1000 mA g−1), which could be explained on the basis of ion mobility in the pores. Thus, the capacitance of the supercapacitors was strongly dependent on the specific surface area and micro- or mesopore volume of the ACNFs.