Surface-hydrophilic-modified carbon aerogels via surface-initiated electrochemically mediated atom transfer radical polymerization for high-performance supercapacitors

Surface electrolyte-philic functionalization of carbon aerogels (CAs) by surface-initiated electrochemically mediated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-eATRP) of hydrophilic polymer brushes of poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) was successfully carried out. The modified composite electrode is more hydrophilic with better wettability in an aqueous electrolyte than the pristine CAs. The modified electrodes possess a higher specific capacitance of 279 F/g, excellent rate performance, and good cycling stability due to combining the advantages of both CAs and hydrophilic property. In addition, this study confirmed that higher electrode/electrolyte contact area lead to higher charge/discharge rates during the energy storage progress. Through the simple modification method, hydrophilic CAs with excellent properties were obtained which have promising application in energy conversion and storage fields.