A simple method to synthesize carbon nanofibers with a parallel growth mode and their capacitive properties

Carbon nanofibers with a parallel growth mode were synthesized by a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method using a nickel catalyst precursor and acetylene carbon source gas at 550 °C, the growth mechanism and growth model of which were discussed and established, respectively. In the case of no pretreatment, the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area and total pore volume of the assynthesized carbon nanofibers were 214m2·g-1 and 0.36 cm3·g-1, respectively. The maximum specific capacitance of the carbon nanofibers was 205.8 F·g-1, examined at a 0.20 V·s-1 sweep rate. The structure and morphology of the carbon nanofibers were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and x-ray powder diffraction (XRD)