Synthesis of Mn3O4 nanoparticles via chemical precipitation approach for supercapacitor application

A simple chemical precipitation method has been used for the preparation of Mn3O4 nanoparticles at room temperature. The crystal structure and morphology studies of the resulting Mn3O4 nanoparticles were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), N2 adsorption and desorption and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The electrochemical properties of the Mn3O4 nanoparticles were then investigated using cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge-discharge and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analysis. The supercapacitive properties of Mn3O4 nanoparticles in the presence of 1 M Na2SO4 exhibited a high specific capacitance of 322 F g-1 at a current density of 0.5 mA cm-2 in the potential range from -0.1 to +0.9 V and about 77% of the initial capacitance was retained after 1000 cycles, indicating that the Mn3O4 electrode owns a good electrochemical stability and capacitance retention capability. The results suggest that the obtained Mn3O4 nanoparticles is a promising electrode material for supercapacitor applications.