Controllable synthesis and electrochemical properties of MnCo2O4 nanorods and microcubes

Abstract

MnCo2O4 nanomaterials have attracted widespread interests for special structural characteristics. We report a facile hydrothermal method to prepare MnCo2O4 nanomaterials with controllable morphologies. MnCo2O4 nanorods and microcubes were successfully prepared through aggregation of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide and didodecyldimethylammonium bromide surfactants as soft template, followed by calcination for crystallization. Analysis showed that the molar ratios of surfactants and the hydrothermal temperature during preparation played important roles in determining the morphology of MnCo2O4 nanomaterials. The resulting products were analyzed by field-emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, electron energy loss spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and were further characterized using a three-electrode system in 1molL−1 KOH electrolyte solution. Results indicated that MnCo2O4 nanorods had mesoporous structures that were 2–3μm in length, 100–200nm in diameter, and 10–30nm in mesopore diameter. The length of each side of MnCo2O4 microcubes was 6–15μm, and the diameter of the mesopore was 7–12nm. MnCo2O4 microcubes exhibited high specific capacitance of 408.33Fg−1 at a current density of 5Ag−1, and excellent long-term cycle stability. These findings imply that MnCo2O4 nanostructured materials show a strong promise for a potential material as electrodes for supercapacitors.