Thermal Treatment of Aerosol Deposited NiMn₂O₄ NTC Thermistors for Improved Aging Stability

Flexible free-standing Ni-Mn oxide antenna decorated CNT/nanofiber membrane for high-volumetric capacitance supercapacitors

There is growing demand for lightweight flexible supercapacitors with high electrochemical performance for wearable and portable electronics. Here, we spun nanoparticles of nickel-manganese oxides along with carbon nanotubes into carbon nanofibers and engineered a 3D networked Ni-Mn oxides/CNT@CNF free-standing membrane for flexible supercapacitor applications. The electrospinning process controlled the nanoparticle aggregation while subsequent heat treatment generates nanochannels in the fibres, resulting in a very porous tubular nanocomposite structure. The preparation process also enabled good interfacial contact between the nanoparticles and the conductive carbon network. The resulting Ni-Mn oxides/CNT@CNF membrane displays high mass loading (Ni-Mn oxides) of 855 mg cm^-3 and low CNT incorporation of ∼0.4%. The outstanding porous structure, synergy of the carbon with Ni-Mn oxides, and fast and facile faradaic reactions on the electrode were responsible for the superior volumetric capacitance of 250 F cm^-3 at 1 A cm^-3, energy density as high as 22 mW h cm^-3 and an excellent power density of 12 W cm^-3. Despite the low CNT loading, the hybrid electrode exhibits excellent cycling performance with capacitance retention of 96.4% after 10 000 cycles evidencing a well-preserved Ni-manganese oxide nanostructure throughout the cycling. The resulting outstanding electrochemical performances of the Ni-Mn oxides/CNT@CNF synergic system offer new insights into effective utilization of transition metal oxides for establishing high-performance flexible supercapacitors within a confined volume.

Solution Synthesis of Cubic Spinel Mn-Ni-Cu-O Thermistor Powder

Toward the development of NTCR thermistors, nanocrystalline Mn–Ni–Cu–O powder was synthesized from a mixed chloride aqueous solution by a simple co-precipitation method.The introduction of an oxidizing agent (H₂O₂) into the solution led to the partial oxidation of Mn²⁺ ions into Mn³⁺ ions, which enabled the collected powder to be well crystallized at 650 °C. Such a low calcining temperature resulted in fine particles with a mean size of 60 nm, which significantly promoted densification of the resulting ceramics. As a result, a dense and homogenous microstructure with a relative density up to 97.2% was achieved for pellets sintered at 1100 °C. Furthermore, these sintered ceramics exhibited a room temperature resistivity (ρ₂₅) of 67 Ω·cmand a thermistor constant (B_25/85) of 2843 K, which make them suitable for use in industrial thermistors. In addition, electrical stability was greatly improved when the ceramics were prepared by a new two-step sintering method. The results suggest that the co-precipitation route with the introduction of H₂O₂ is suitable for the fabrication of cubic spinel thermistor nanopowders.

Electrochemical Energy Storage Properties of Ni-Mn-Oxide Electrodes for Advance Asymmetric Supercapacitor Application

In this work, we report a facile one-spot synthesis process and the influence of compositional variation on the electrochemical performance of Ni-Mn-oxides (Ni:Mn = 1:1, 1:2, 1:3, and 1:4) for high-performance advanced energy storage applications. The crystalline structure and the morphology of these synthesized nanocomposites have been demonstrated using X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron Microscopy. Among these materials, Ni-Mn-oxide with Ni:Mn = 1:3 possesses a large Brunauer?Emmett?Teller specific surface area (127 m² g^?1) with pore size 8.2 nm and exhibits the highest specific capacitance of 1215.5 F g^?1 at a scan rate 2 mV s^?1 with an excellent long-term cycling stability (?87.2% capacitance retention at 10 A g^?1 over 5000 cycles). This work also gives a comparison and explains the influence of different compositional ratios on the electrochemical properties of Ni-Mn-oxides. To demonstrate the possibility of commercial application, an asymmetric supercapacitor device has been constructed by using Ni-Mn-oxide (Ni:Mn = 1:3) as a positive electrode and activated carbon (AC) as a negative electrode. This battery-like device achieves a maximum energy density of 132.3 W h kg^?1 at a power density of 1651 W kg^?1 and excellent coulombic efficiency of 97% over 3000 cycles at 10 A g^?1.

Novel Method for NTC Thermistor Production by Aerosol Co-Deposition and Combined Sintering

A novel three-stage process to produce NTCR sensors is presented. In this process, an uncalcined powder mixture of NiO and Mn₂O₃ was deposited onto an alumina substrate via aerosol co-deposition (AcD). Then, an electrode structure was screen-printed onto the surface and the composite film was sintered in a multifunctional temperature treatment. Thereby, the sintering of the electrode, the formation of the NiMn₂O₄ spinel and the removal of film strains took place simultaneously. This enabled a significant reduction in energy demand and workload. The manufactured sensors, both as first prototypes, as well as miniaturized chip components, were characterized by a single-phase cubic NiMn₂O₄ spinel structure, mechanical stability and electrical properties that were similar to those of classical NiMn₂O₄ bulk ceramics or tempered aerosol deposited (AD) NiMn₂O₄ films. Particularly noteworthy was the high reproducibility and low variation of the NTCR parameters, such as the specific resistivity at 25 °C ρ₂₅, the electrical resistance at 25 °C R₂₅ and the thermistor constant B. The NTCR parameters were as aging-stable as for NiMn₂O₄ bulk ceramics or tempered NiMn₂O₄ AD-films and could even be further improved by thermal post-treatment.