Battery-type MnCo2O4@carbon nanofibers composites with mesoporous structure for high performance asymmetric supercapacitor

Abstract

MnCo2O4@nitrogen-doped carbon nanofibers (MnCo2O4@N-CNFs) composites with mesopore-rich structure are synthesized by in-situ electrospinning method for asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC). Among the composites studied, the MnCo2O4@N-CNFs-0.5 electrode with Mn:Co molar ratio of 0.5:1 exhibits a high specific capacitance of 548C g−1 at 0.5 A g−1, which is attributed to the uniform dispersion of MnCo2O4 nanoparticles on the surface of N-CNFs and also the mesopore-rich structure of the composite. After being assembled into an alkaline ASC with MnCo2O4@N-CNFs-0.5 as cathode and activated carbon as anode, it shows a high energy density of 27.5 W h kg−1 at 886 W kg−1 and obtains 76.9% of capacitance retention after 8000 cycles at 2 A g−1. Reasonable regulation of the loading of MnCo2O4 to N-CNFs can pave the way for the preparation of composite materials with significantly improved electrochemical performance.