Defective mesoporous carbon/MnO2 nanocomposite as an advanced electrode material for supercapacitor application

Herein, the supercapacitive characteristics of a novel nanocomposite based on defective mesoporous carbon (DMC) and MnO2 is presented. DMC was obtained via a facile and low-cost synthesis route and its interconnected pore network was served as host matrix for the growth of MnO2 nanoparticles to form the DMC/MnO2 nanocomposite. The deposition of MnO2 nanoparticles at the surface of DMC support was investigated using different structural analyses including FT-IR, Nitrogen adsorption/desorption, XRD, XPS, SEM and TEM. Compared to DMC and MnO(2 )electrodes, the DMC/MnO(2 )nanocomposite exhibited the highest specific capacitance reaching to 292 F g(-1) at current density of 0.5 A g(-1). Also, DMC/MnO2 possessed good rate performance (61% capacity retention over 0.5-10 A g(-1)) and cycling stability (21% capacity loss after 2000 charge discharges cycles). Furthermore, a two-electrode symmetric supercapacitor device delivered a high specific energy of 34 W h kg(-1) at specific power of 100 W kg(-1). (C) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

A novel nanocomposite based on DMC and MnO2 exhibited high specific capacitance, good rate performance, and cycling stability. Structural analyses confirmed the excellent performance of the nanocomposite material.