Melamine formaldehyde resin was used to prepare heteroatom-enriched carbon nanofibers by electrospinning for the first time. The melamine formaldehyde resin-based carbon fibers without any activation treatment showed a moderate specific surface area ranging from 130 to 479 m(2)/g and rich surface functionalities (2.56-5.34 wt.% nitrogen and 10.39-11.29 wt.% oxygen). Both the specific surface area and surface functionality greatly depended on the carbonization temperature. The capacitive performance was evaluated in 6 M KOH aqueous solution. The electrochemically active surface functionalities played an important role in improving the surface capacitance of the electrodes. The sample carbonized at 600 degrees C showed the highest specific surface capacitance of 1.4 F/m(2), which was attributed to the most active functionalities (10.69 wt.% of N and O). In addition, the sample carbonized at 750 C exhibited the highest specific capacitance of 206 F/g. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.