Crystallographically-oriented Mn oxide nanorod/nanowire arrays electrodes

The fabrication of stainless steel electrode decorated with Mn oxide nanostructure arrays via a facile two-step solution-based method was present. Amorphous Mn oxide films were firstly electrodeposited, and then hydrothermally transformed into Mn oxide nanostructure with different crystal nature. A cation induced growth mechanism was proposed and the effect of stainless steel substrate was discussed. Super-capacitor electrodes based on the obtained nanostructured were thoroughly characterized. An increase in specific capacitance from 79 F g(-1) to 301 F g(-1) at 1 A g(-1) after hydrothermal treatment was achieved, owing to the unique open-spaced array architecture and self-supported binder-free electrode. In addition, the Mn oxide electrode showed good structural activity in electrochemical degradation of MB solution. This preparation process offers a new way for the design and synthesis of self-supported metal hydroxide and oxide nanoarray electrode with the facile tuning method, which is promising for electrochemical energy storage, catalysis, and gas sensing applications. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.