Hybrid films were prepared by adding various concentrations of meso-carbon microbeads (MCMB) during sol-gel processing of manganese oxide films. The heat-treated films were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). In addition, electrochemical performance of the MCMB-added Mn-oxide hybrid coatings was evaluated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and compared with its unadded counterpart. Experimental results showed that Mn-oxide films exhibited a mixture of Mn(2)O(3) and Mn(3)O(4) phases. The higher the heat-treatment temperature, the more Mn(2)O(3) can be observed. The specific capacitance of the unadded Mn-oxide electrodes is 209 F/g. Because the MCMB particles provide more interfacial surface area for electrochemical reactions, a significant improvement can be noticed by adding MCMB in Mn-oxide coatings. The 300 degrees C heat-treated hybrid Mn-oxide coating with a Mn/MCMB ratio of 10/1 exhibits the highest value of 350 F/g, showing a similar to 170% increase in specific capacitance. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.