The hydrogen adsorption capacity of different types of carbon nanofibers (platelet, fishbone and ribbon) and amorphous carbon have been measured as a function of pressure and temperature. The results showed that the more graphitic carbon materials adsorbed less hydrogen than more amorphous materials. After a chemical activation process, the hydrogen storage capacities of the carbon materials increased markedly in comparison with the non-activated ones. BET surface area of amorphous carbon increased by a factor of 3.5 and the ultramicropore volume doubled, thus increasing the hydrogen adsorption by a factor of 2. However, BET surface area in platelet CNFs increased by a factor of 3 and the ultramicropore volume by a factor of 6, thus increasing the hydrogen storage by a factor of 4.5. The dependency of hydrogen storage capacity of carbon materials on the BET surface area was evaluated using both a condensation model and experimental results. Comparison of data suggests that the hydrogen adsorption capacity clearly depends on the pore structure and so, on the accessibility to the internal surface. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.