A dandelion-like carbon microsphere/MnO2 nanosheets composite for supercapacitors

This article reported the electrochemical performance of a novel cabon microsphere/MnO₂ nanosheets (CMS/MnO₂) composite prepared by a in situ self-limiting deposition method under hydrothermal condition. The results of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed that MnO₂ nanosheets homogeneously grew onto the surface of CMS to form a loose-packed and dandelion-like core/shell microstructure. The unique microstructure plays a basic role in electrochemical accessibility of electrolyte to MnO₂ active material and a fast diffusion rate within the redox phase. The results of cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge/discharge and electrochemical impedance spectrometry indicated that the prepared CMS/MnO₂ composite presented high capacitance of 181 F·g⁻¹ and long cycle life of 61% capacity retention after 2000 charge/discharge cycles in 1 mol/L Na₂SO₄ solution, which show strong promise for high-rate electrochemical capacitive energy storage applications.