Mn 3 O 4 /reduced graphene oxide nanocomposite electrodes with tailored morphology for high power supercapacitor applications

Experimental and theoretical investigation on the charge storage performance of NiSb2O6 and its reduced graphene oxide composite - a comparative analysis

We report the electrochemical charge storage performance of NiSb2O6, obtained through a solid-state reaction method, and a detailed comparison with its reduced graphene oxide composite. Intriguingly, the composite, NiSb2O6-reduced graphene oxide, yielded a large capacitance of 952.38 F g-1, at a mass-normalized-current of 1 A g-1, which is at least 4-fold higher than that of the bare NiSb2O6. We have also tested the performance of the composite in a two-electrode symmetric device. The NiSb2O6-reduced graphene oxide symmetric device showed an excellent capacity retention of ∼94%, even after 10 000 cycles. We conducted comprehensive density functional theory (DFT) simulations to determine the structure and electronic characteristics of NiSb2O6, and the composite material of NiSb2O6-reduced graphene oxide. The incorporation of reduced graphene oxide results in an augmentation of electronic states near the Fermi level, hence showing an improvement in the conductivity of the hybrid system. The composite structure exhibits a lower diffusion energy barrier for electrolyte ions and a greater quantum capacitance than pristine NiSb2O6. These characteristics confirm our experimental findings and justify the observed improvement in charge storage performance for the composite structure. Based on the results obtained, it can be concluded that the combination of rGO and NiSb2O6 displays excellent performance and has the potential to serve as a highly efficient material for electrochemical capacitors.

Efficiency of zero-dimensional and two-dimensional graphene architectural nanocomposites for organic transformations in the contemporary environment: a review

Graphene derivatives-based nanocatalyst finds increasing utilisation in the catalysis field for organic transformations. Researchers have been working on the development of graphene oxide, reduced graphene oxide, and graphene quantum dots with metal or metal oxide nanocomposites over the last few years. These materials exhibit excellent electrical, catalytic, optical, thermal, and magnetic properties. In particular, GO/rGO/GQDs composites assisted by metal or metal oxides have attracted broad attention for their possible applications in organic compound synthesis, drug delivery, sensors, devices, and the related areas of the environment. In this review, we have summarised GO/rGO/GQDs-metal or metal oxide composites using catalyst for organic conversions and synthesis of organic compounds in accordance with the discussion on the key problems and prospects for future study. Furthermore, there is a significant function for the catalytic efficiency of composites assisted by metal or metal oxide nanocatalyst which is categorised by graphene derivatives bases.

Self-Assembly of Hausmannite Mn3O4 Triangular Structures on Cocosin Protein Scaffolds for High Energy Density Symmetric Supercapacitor Application

Recent advances in using biological scaffolds for nanoparticle synthesis have proven to be useful for preparing various nanostructures with uniform shape and size. Proteins are significant scaffolds for generating various nanostructures partly because of the presence of many functional groups to recognize different chemistries. In this endeavor, cocosin protein, an 11S allergen, is prepared from coconut fruit and employed as a potential scaffold for synthesizing Mn₃O₄ materials. The interaction between protein and manganese ions is studied in detail through isothermal calorimetric titration. At increased scaffold availability, the Mn₃O₄ material adopts the exact hexamer structure of the cocosin protein. The electrochemical supercapacitive properties of the cocosin-Mn₃O₄ material are found to have a high specific capacitance of 751.3 F g^-1 at 1 A g^-1 with cyclic stability (92% of capacitance retention after 5000 CV cycles) in a three-electrode configuration. The Mn₃O₄//Mn₃O₄ symmetric supercapacitor device delivers a specific capacitance of 203.8 F g^-1 at 1 A g^-1 and an outstanding energy and power density of 91.7 W h kg^-1 and 899.5 W kg^-1, respectively. These results show that cocosin-Mn₃O₄ could be considered a suitable electrode for energy storage applications. Moreover, the cocosin protein to be utilized as a novel scaffold in protein-nanomaterial chemistry could be useful for protein-assisted inorganic nanostructure synthesis in the future.

CoS nanowires grown on Ti3C2Tx are promising electrodes for supercapacitors: High capacitance and remarkable cycle capability

Benefitting from the large interlayer spacing, ultrahigh conductivity and abundant surface chemistry, Ti₃C₂T_x has been a promising electrode material for supercapacitors (SCs). CoS has attracted much attention due to its low cost, weak Co-S bond and relatively high theoretical capacity. Herein, CoS nanowires were grown on few-layered Ti₃C₂T_x by one-step solvothermal method as a SC electrode. Within the composite, Ti₃C₂T_x could function as conductive network and buffer matrix to provide ultra-fast electronic transport and relieve volume expansion of CoS nanowires. Simultaneously, the active CoS nanowires with high capacitance act as interlayer spacer to restrain the restacking of Ti₃C₂T_x nanosheets. As a result, CoS/Ti₃C₂T_x-5 electrode exhibits a remarkable improvement specific capacitance of 528 F g^-1 at a current density of 1 A g^-1 and ultrahigh capacitance retention of 99.3% after 20 000 cycles at a current density of 10 A g^-1. The attempts and efforts made in this work provide a prototype for achieving excellent electrochemical properties.

Over-Reduction-Controlled Mixed-Valent Manganese Oxide with Tunable Mn2+/Mn3+ Ratio for High-Performance Asymmetric Supercapacitor with Enhanced Cycling Stability

Manganese oxides composed of various valence states Mn^x+ (x = 2, 3, and 4) have attracted wide attention as promising electrode materials for asymmetric supercapacitor. However, the poor electrical conductivity limited their performance and application. Appropriate regulation content of Mn^x+ in mixed-valent manganese oxide can tune the electronic structure and further improve their conductivity and performance. Herein, we prepared manganese oxides with different Mn²⁺/Mn³⁺ ratios through an over-reduction (OR) strategy for tuning the internal electron structure of mixed-valent manganese, which could make these material oxides a good platform for researching the structure-property relationships. The Mn²⁺/Mn³⁺ ratio of manganese oxide could be precisely tuned from 0.6 to 1.7 by controlling the amount of reducing agent for manipulating the redox processes, where the manganese oxide electrode with the most appropriate Mn²⁺/Mn³⁺ ratio, as 1.65 (OR4) exhibits large capacitance (274 F g^-1) and the assembling asymmetric supercapacitors by combining OR4 (positive) and the commercial activated carbon (as negative) achieved large 2.0 V voltage window and high energy density of 27.7 Wh kg^-1 (power density of 500 W kg^-1). The cycle lifespan of the OR4//AC could keep about 92.9% after 10 000-cycle tests owing to the Jahn-Teller distortion of the Mn(III)O₆ octahedron, which is more competitive compared to other work. Moreover, a red-light-emitting diode (LED) can easily be lit for 15 min by two all-solid supercapacitor devices in a series.

Producing "Symbiotic" Reduced Graphene Oxide/Mn3O4 Nanocomposites Directly from Converting Graphite for High-Performance Supercapacitor Electrodes

Almost all existing methods for preparing reduced graphene oxide/Mn₃O₄ (RGO/Mn₃O₄) composites are based on the synthetized graphene or graphene oxides (GO), which make them complicated and high-cost processes. Here, we reported a new method, which is able to convert graphite directly to RGO/Mn₃O₄ composites. Thus, it is simpler, more economical, and productive. The structure of RGO/Mn₃O₄ inheriting intermediate product GO/MnO₂ composites that are formed by the present method is a novel three-dimensional "multilayer steamed bread" nanostructure, which constitutes mutually beneficial "symbiosis". The nano-Mn₃O₄ supports the space between RGO layers and further to the combination of RGO to self-assemble into large-sized (>40 μm) nanocomposites. Meanwhile, the formed Mn₃O₄ particles were small (60 × 10 nm²) in diameter and distributed homogeneously without the use of any template and surfactant. Because the structure and nanosize of composite cause the excellent electrochemical properties, RGO/Mn₃O₄ electrodes deliver an enhanced specific capacitance of 438.7 F/g at 0.3 A/g and outstanding cyclic stability (77.5% of its initial capacitance is retained after 1000 cycles).

Rapid Production of Mn₃O₄/rGO as an Efficient Electrode Material for Supercapacitor by Flame Plasma

Benefiting from good ion accessibility and high electrical conductivity, graphene-based material as electrodes show promising electrochemical performance in energy storage systems. In this study, a novel strategy is devised to prepare binder-free Mn₃O₄-reduced graphene oxide (Mn₃O₄/rGO) electrodes. Well-dispersed and homogeneous Mn₃O₄ nanosheets are grown on graphene layers through a facile chemical co-precipitation process and subsequent flame procedure. This obtained Mn₃O₄/rGO nanostructures exhibit excellent gravimetric specific capacitance of 342.5 F g⁻¹ at current density of 1 A g⁻¹ and remarkable cycling stability of 85.47% capacitance retention under 10,000 extreme charge/discharge cycles at large current density. Furthermore, an asymmetric supercapacitor assembled using Mn₃O₄/rGO and activated graphene (AG) delivers a high energy density of 27.41 Wh kg⁻¹ and a maximum power density of 8 kW kg⁻¹. The material synthesis strategy presented in this study is facile, rapid and simple, which would give an insight into potential strategies for large-scale applications of metal oxide/graphene and hold tremendous promise for power storage applications.

Performance enhancement of asymmetric supercapacitors with bud-like Cu-doped Mn3O4 hollow and porous structures on nickel foam as positive electrodes

Cu-doped Mn₃O₄ hollow nanostructures supported on Ni foams as high-performance electrode materials for supercapacitors were successfully synthesized through a facile hydrothermal method and subsequent calcination. The morphology, structure, and electrochemical performance of the as-prepared Mn₃O₄ nanostructures can be tuned just by varying the Cu doping content. Benefiting from the unique bud-like hollow structure, the 1.5 at% Cu-doped Mn₃O₄ sample has a high specific capacitance of 257.6 F g⁻¹ at 1 A g⁻¹ and remarkable stability (about 90.6% retention of its initial capacitance after 6000 electrochemical cycles). Besides, an asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) cell based on the 1.5 at% Cu-doped Mn₃O₄ exhibits a high specific capacitance of 305.6 F g⁻¹ at 1 A g⁻¹ and an energy density of 108.6 W h kg⁻¹ at a power density of 799.9 W kg⁻¹. More importantly, the ASC shows good long-term stability with 86.9% capacity retention after charging/discharging for 6000 cycles at a high current density of 5 A g⁻¹.

The effect of Cu doping on the electrochemical performance of bud-like Mn₃O₄ nanostructures for supercapacitor application was comparatively investigated.

From spent alkaline batteries to ZnxMn3−xO4 by a hydrometallurgical route: synthesis and characterization

A series of Zn/Mn binary oxides with different molar ratios were synthesized via co-precipitation from a solution obtained through the leaching of a black mass originating from the mechanical recycling of spent alkaline and Zn–C batteries.

Reduced graphene oxide-mediated synthesis of Mn3O4 nanomaterials for an asymmetric supercapacitor cell

Herein, Mn₃O₄/reduced graphene oxide composites are prepared via a facile solution-phase method for supercapacitor application. Transmission electron microscopy results reveal the uniform distribution of Mn₃O₄ nanoparticles on graphene layers. The morphology of the Mn₃O₄ nanomaterial is changed by introducing the reduced graphene oxide during the preparation process. An asymmetric supercapacitor cell based on the Mn₃O₄/reduced graphene oxide composite with the weight ratio of 1 : 1 exhibits relatively superior charge storage properties with higher specific capacitance and larger energy density compared with those of pure reduced graphene oxide or Mn₃O₄. More importantly, the long-term stability of the composite with more than 90.3% capacitance retention after 10 000 cycles can ensure that the product is widely applied in energy storage devices.

The existence presence of rGO can affect the morphology of an Mn₃O₄/rGO composite, and the asymmetric supercapacitor cell created with this composite exhibits good capacitive performance.