Self-assembled GNS wrapped flower-like MnCo2O4 nanostructures for supercapacitor application

Abstract

Chemically converted flower like hybrid spinel manganese cobaltite (MnCo2O4) @graphene nanosheet (GNS/MC) and manganese cobaltite (MnCo2O4) @CNT nanocomposites has been fabricated by a facile hydrothermal process for supercapacitor application. These hybrid materials have been synthesized by in-situ fabrication of MnCo2O4 nanoflower on GNS and CNT which provides excellent interfacial sites owing to the redox process with exceptional electrical support. Structure and morphology were established by FESEM, TEM, FTIR, XRD, and XPS analysis. The composites infused with GNS show better electrochemical performance than composites infused with carbon nanotubes (CNTs) due to its high surface area, good conductive nature that can more efficiently store electrostatic charge. This GNS/MC composite consists of good conductive interconnected graphene nanosheet with a large surface area (356.65 m2g−1) that can efficiently facilitate electrolyte penetration by providing many active sites and delivers a superior transport path for ions and electrons leading to a high specific capacitance of 923.97 Fg−1 and excellent cyclic stability with reversibility up to 5000 cycles. The specific capacitance has also been calculated theoretically by the Trasatti method of analysis. Therefore, these hierarchical MnCo2O4 nanoflower based composites can be an excellent electrode material for energy storage application.