Patent ID: 8313723

Claim:
A method of preparing a carbon fiber comprising: forming a polymer fiber by a process consisting of a group consisting of 1) spinning a starting polymer fiber so as to form the polymer fiber that has a diameter of less than 10 microns and 2) electrospinning a polymeric material so as to form the polymer fiber so as to have a diameter of less than about one micron; carbonizing at least a portion of the polymer fiber to provide a carbon fiber; coating at least a portion of the polymer fiber or the carbon fiber with a catalytic material precursor, and catalytically activating at least a portion of the carbon fiber with a catalytic material comprising catalytic nanoparticles of at least about 2 nm average size to form one or more mesopores on the surface of the carbon fiber so that should the carbon fiber is used as part of a capacitor, such a capacitor will have improved energy density and reduced internal device impedance due to use of the carbon fiber.