Manganese dioxide has been considered as a promising material for electrochemical supercapacitors. In order to obtain a high specific capacitance, MnO2 has been electrodeposited from an aqueous acidic solution of MnSO4 consisting of an ionic surfactant, namely, sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) on stainless steel. The electrodeposited films of MnO2 in the presence of the surfactant possess greater porosity and hence greater surface area in relation to the films prepared in the absence of the surfactant. Cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge discharge cycling experiments reveal that specific capacitance is higher by about 22% due to the effect of SLS. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.