Carbon supported manganese(IV)–cobalt(II/III) oxides nanoparticles for high-performance electrochemical supercapacitors

Center for Physical Sciences and Technology, 3 Saulėtekio Avenue, 10257 Vilnius, Lithuania The carbon supported manganese(IV)–cobalt (II/III) oxides nanoparticles labelled as MnO2–Co3O4/C nanocomposites have been prepared by a simple one-step microwave-assisted heating method using different precursor materials. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) have been used for the characterization of morphology, structure and composition of the synthesized nanocomposites, whereas the electrochemical performance of the prepared nanocomposites has been evaluated by using cyclic voltammetry (CV). It was determined that the use of different precursor materials for the synthesis of the carbon supported MnO2 and Co3O4 nanocomposites results in a different morphology of the prepared substances. A high specific capacitance (Cs) of 658.8 F g −1 at a scan rate of 10 mV s−1 in a 1 M Na2SO4 solution has been obtained for the MnO2– Co3O4/C-2 nanocomposite that has a spherical shape of nanoparticles. Moreover, it significantly outperforms the MnO2–Co3O4/C-1 nanocomposite that has a lamellar shape of nanoparticles.