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Coherent Mn3O4-carbon nanocomposites with enhanced energy-storage capacitance

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Abstract

Nanostructured Mn3O4 was introduced to activated C (AC) by a novel sonochemical reaction, and the resulting nanocomposites were examined as supercapacitor electrodes. The sonication not only catalyzed the redox reaction but also promoted the diffusion of the precursors, causing the formation of coherent nanocomposites with Mn3O4 nanoparticles grown and uniformly distributed inside the mesopores of the AC. In addition, the extreme local condition in the sonochemical synthesis yielded an excessive amount of divalent manganese ions and oxygen vacancies. This novel microstructure endowed the sample with a superior performance, including a specific capacitance of 150 F/g compared with the value of 93 F/g for AC at a charge/discharge rate of 100 mA/g. A Li-ion capacitor delivered an energy density of 68 Wh/kg, compared with 41 Wh/kg for the AC capacitor at a power density of 210 W/kg.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100083, China

    Chaofeng Liu, Huanqiao Song, Changkun Zhang, Yaguang Liu, Cuiping Zhang, Xihui Nan & Guozhong Cao

  2. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, 98195, USA

    Guozhong Cao

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  1. Chaofeng Liu
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  2. Huanqiao Song
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Liu, C., Song, H., Zhang, C. et al. Coherent Mn3O4-carbon nanocomposites with enhanced energy-storage capacitance. Nano Res. 8, 3372–3383 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-015-0837-4

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