MnCo2O4 nanosphere synthesis for electrochemical applications

Abstract

The present work addresses the important need of new materials to improve energy storage materials. The synthesis of MnCo2O4 nanospheres by employing solvothermal method at different incubation times was carried out. The effects of reaction time on structural, morphological, and electrochemical studies were briefly investigated. The X-ray diffraction result unveils the formation of cubic-structured MnCo2O4 nanospheres with Fd3m (2 2 7) space group. The appearance of two Raman peaks at 480 and 662 cm−1 was greatly attributed to the stretching vibration mode of M–O (M = Mn, Co), and substantiates the formation of MnCo2O4. The presence of functional group and characteristics group was analyzed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The scanning electron microscope image clearly indicated different sizes of nanoparticles due to the effect of solvothermal reaction period. The energy storage behavior of MnCo2O4 nanospheres was studied by employing the cyclic voltammetric and charge–discharge cycles. The results confirmed the pseudocapacitive nature of MnCo2O4 nanoparticles (RF3) with porous, spherical nanostructure with larger radius than others and contribute to better specific capacitance of 252 F g−1 at current density of 1 A g−1 which could be considered as a potential candidate for pseudocapacitive electrode for energy storage devices. Keywords: Cubic, MnCo2O4, Nanospheres, PVP, Fd3m (2 2 7) space group, Energy storage