Microwave-mediated synthesis of tetragonal Mn3O4 nanostructure for supercapacitor application

The development of electrode materials plays a vital role in energy storage applications to save and store energy. In the present work, the synthesis of nanorod shaped Mn3O4 supported with amorphous carbon (Mn3O4/AC) is reported by the microwave method for supercapacitor application. The as-prepared electrode material was then characterized using microscopic and spectroscopic techniques. The electrochemical supercapacitor performance of Mn3O4/AC was examined by the cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge-discharge method inside the three-electrode assembly cell. The results showed that the Mn3O4/AC delivers the excellent capacitance value of the 569.5 Fg(-1) at the current load of 1 Ag-1, higher than the previously reported Mn3O4 based electrodes. The better performance of the Mn3O4/AC is credited to the excellent redox behaviour of the Mn3O4 and the presence of the amorphous carbon, which facilitated the fast ion interaction between the electrode and electrolyte during the electrochemical reaction.