An activated carbon nanotubes with opened ports,short tube length and rough tube walls were obtained by an activating treatment of carbon nanotubes used KOH as the activating agent,which were observed by TEM and HRTEM.The specific surface areas of the two carbon nanotubes were detected by N₂ adsorber,and the result is that the activated carbon nanotubes have larger specific surface area than the pristine carbon nanotubes.The electrochemical super capacitors were assembled with the two carbon nanotubes used as the electrode materials,respectively.The electrochemical capacitance of the activated carbon nanotubes is 50 F/g in organic electrolyte,which is much higher than that of the pristine carbon nanotubes.

Key words: carbon nanotubes, electrochemical capacitance, activation