Microwave-mediated synthesis of tetragonal Mn 3 O 4 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 Mn 3 O 4 supported with amorphous carbon (Mn 3 O 4 /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 Mn 3 O 4 /AC was examined by the cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge-discharge method inside the three-electrode assembly cell. The results showed that the Mn 3 O 4 /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 Mn 3 O 4 based electrodes. The better performance of the Mn 3 O 4 /AC is credited to the excellent redox behaviour of the Mn 3 O 4 and the presence of the amorphous carbon, which facilitated the fast ion interaction between the electrode and electrolyte during the electrochemical reaction.