Nanoporous carbons, with different micropore size distributions, were prepared based on waste coffee grounds by a chemical activation process in order to elucidate the correlation between desolvated ions and pores smaller than the sizes of ions using an organic electrolyte. The pore structure of the coffee-based nanoporous carbon was strongly dependent on the heat-treatment temperature prior to the activation process. Cyclic voltammograms of the nanoporous carbons mainly dominated by the smaller pore relative to that of the bare ion size clearly showed deviation from an ideal feature of the current response. It was clearly envisaged that even a bare ion of a size larger than the pore size can penetrate into the pore by voltage-induced force. (C) 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.