Ultra-tiny ZnMn2O4 nanoparticles encapsulated in sandwich-like carbon nanosheets for high-performance supercapacitors

Nanotechnology. 2016 Nov 25;27(47):475402. doi: 10.1088/0957-4484/27/47/475402. Epub 2016 Oct 24.

Abstract

Known as an excellent energy storage material, ZnMn2O4 has a wide range of applications in supercapacitors. In this report, a special sandwich-like structure of ZnMn2O4/C has been first designed and synthesized via a simple hydrothermal method and subsequent calcinations. The designed special sandwich-like structure can benefit ion exchange and remit the probable volume changes during a mass of electrochemical reactions. Furthermore, the porous carbon nanosheets, derived from low-cost glucose, can effectively increase ion flux. Therefore, the novel sandwich-like ZnMn2O4 nanoparticles encapsulated in carbon nanosheets can undoubtedly demonstrate an exceptional electrochemical performance for SCs. In this work, the composite material with porous sandwich-like structure exhibits excellent cyclic stability for 5000 cycles (∼5% loss) and high specific capacitance of 1786 F g-1.