Carbon nanofiber (CNF) is used as an electrode material for electrical double layer capacitors (EDLCs), and is being consistently researched to improve its electrochemical performance. However, CNF still faces important challenges due to the low mesopore volume, leading to a poor high-rate performance. In the present study, we prepared the unique architecture of the activated mesoporous CNF with a high specific surface area and high mesopore volume, which were successfully synthesized using PMMA as a pore-forming agent and the KOH activation. The activated mesoporous CNF was found to exhibit the high specific surface area of 703 m2 g−1, total pore volume of 0.51 cm3 g−1, average pore diameter of 2.9 nm, and high mesopore volume of 35.2 %. The activated mesoporous CNF also indicated the high specific capacitance of 143 F g−1, high-rate performance, high energy density of 17.9-13.0Wh kg−1, and excellent cycling stability. Therefore, this unique architecture with a high specific surface area and high mesopore volume provides profitable synergistic effects in terms of the increased electrical double-layer area and favorable ion diffusion at a high current density. Consequently, the activated mesoporous CNF is a promising candidate as an electrode material for high-performance EDLCs.

The study was done to change the morphology and pore size of SBA-15 silica, and the characteristics of SBA-15 silica were investigated with TG-DSC, XRD, SEM, TEM and N2 adsorption-desorption under changing aging conditions. SBA-15 silica having a 2D-hexagonal structure was synthesized and confirmed by SEM and TEM. The structure of mesoporus silica SBA-15 showed a pore having regularly formed hexagonal structure and a passage having a cylindrical shape. This result is in good agreement with the pore forming in XRD and cylindrical shape of the structure in N2 adsorption-desorption isotherm. SBA-15 silica showed a large BET surface area of 603-698 m2/g, a pore volume of 0.673-0.926 cm3/g, a large pore diameter of 5.62-7.42 nm, and a thick pore wall of 3.31-4.37 nm. This result shows that as the aging temperature increases, the BET surface area, pore volume, and pore diameter increase but the pore wall thickness decreases. The BET surface areas in SM-2 and SM-3 are as large as 698 m2/g. However, SM-2 has a large surface area and forms a thick pore wall, when the aging temperature is 100˚C and is synthesized into stable mesoporous SBA-15 silica.