Hydrophilic modification of ordered mesoporous carbons for supercapacitor via electrochemically induced surface-initiated atom-transfer radical polymerization

•Hydrophilic PVP brushes were grafted on the surface of OMCs by SI-eATRP.•The grafted PVP brushes can effectively enhance the wettability of OMCs surface.•The OMCs-PVP electrode has a high specific capacitance of 253 F g− 1 at 0.5 A g− 1.•The OMCs-PVP electrode yields a superior rate capability and long-term stability.

Ordered mesoporous carbons (OMCs) grafted with poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) was prepared through electrochemically induced surface-initiated atom-transfer radical polymerization (SI-eATRP). The introduction of hydrophilic polymer PVP brushes on the surface of OMCs results in the improvement of wettability and a remarkable increase in the specific capacitance. The results of electrochemical performance of OMCs-PVP show good specific capacitance of 253 F g− 1, excellent rate performance and good cycling stability with capacitance retention of 89.6% over 5000 cycles. The PVP modification of OMCs via the SI-eATRP method demonstrates an effective way to improve the wettability and electrochemical properties.

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