Bonso, Jeliza S.Kalaw, Grace Jones D.Ferraris, John P.2014-07-032014-07-032013-11-212013-11-212013-09-202050-7488http://hdl.handle.net/10735.1/3631Electrochemical double layer capacitors (EDLCs) utilize electrodes with high surface area to achieve high-energy storage capability. In this study, flexible and freestanding carbon nanofibers derived from PIM-1, a microporous polymer with high free volume, were prepared by pyrolysis of the electrospun polymer. A BET surface area of 546 m² g⁻¹ was obtained upon carbonization of the electrospun PIM-1 fibers. After further heat treatments such as steam-activation and annealing, the surface area increased to 1162 m² g⁻¹. These carbon fibers were directly used as electrodes without the use of binders in a coin cell (CR2032) configuration and were characterized by cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge-discharge and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The activated and annealed fibers gave a specific capacitance of 120 F g⁻¹ at a scan rate of 10 mV s⁻¹ using 1,3-ethylmethylimidizaolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl) imide as the ionic liquid electrolyte. From the galvanostatic charge-discharge test, the supercapacitor exhibited energy and power densities of 60 W h kg ⁻¹ (active material) and 1.7 kW kg⁻¹, respectively, at a current density of 1 A g⁻¹. High power application of this device was demonstrated by its 77% retention of the energy density (47 W h kg⁻¹) at a higher discharge current density of 5 A g⁻¹.en©2014 The Royal Society of Chemistry. This article may not be further made available or distributed.Carbon fibersPolymersElectrospinningTextBonso, J. S., G. D. Kalaw, and J. P. Ferraris. 2014. "High surface area carbon nanofibers derived from electrospun PIM-1 for energy storage applications." Journal of Materials Chemistry A 2014(2), doi:10.1039/c3ta13779a22