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. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]