Exploiting spinel manganese oxide decorated with silver nanoparticles as electrodes for supercapacitor application
Monika Michalska, Martin Sarman, Janhavi Sharma, C. Naveen Kumar, Kamil Sobczak, Pramod K. Singh, Amrita Jain
Abstract
This work presents a novel approach to the development of supercapacitor technology through the integration of a gel polymer electrolyte (GPE) and Ag nanoparticle (NP) modified Mn 3 O 4 electrodes. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to employ a GPE comprising poly(vinylidene fluoride)-co-hexafluoropropylene (PVdF-HFP) as the host polymer, propylene carbonate (PC) as the plasticizer, and magnesium perchlorate (Mg(ClO 4 ) 2 ) as the salt, in conjunction with Ag NP-modified Mn 3 O 4 electrodes. The study also introduces a pioneering low-temperature ultrasonication method for the attachment of Ag NPs to Mn 3 O 4 , which eliminates the need for a reducing agent. This approach is characterized by its simplicity, cost-effectiveness, and scalability, offering significant advantages over conventional methods. The electrochemical performance of the resulting supercapacitor cells, featuring the modified electrodes and novel GPE, was comprehensively evaluated, yielding a single electrode specific capacitance of 9.38 F g⁻¹, with an energy density of 1.9 Wh kg⁻¹, and a power density of 30.8 W kg⁻¹. The findings demonstrate the potential of this new system to enhance energy storage capabilities, marking a substantial advancement in supercapacitor research, and this study sets the foundation for future investigations into scalable, high-performance energy storage solutions, emphasizing both innovation in material design and process optimization.