Cross-Section Auger Analysis to Study the Bulk Organization/Structure of Mn-Co Nano-Composites for Hybrid Supercapacitors

Developing new methods to prepare pseudocapacitive materials with high pseudocapacitance/electronic conductivity is of great interest for hybrid supercapacitors. Recently, the exfoliation/restacking manganese and cobalt layered transition metal oxides was proposed. Despite improved electrochemical performance such Mn-Co composites, their bulk organization (i.e. scale at which stacking occurs) structure porosity…) remains be elucidated so far. To tackle this issue, here, SEM Auger analysis a nanoscale resolution, coupled cross-section preparation A good correlation between restacking method, organization/structure composites resulting obtained. Importantly, combination allows revealing Mn Co phases. Also, porosity nano-composites, revealed by preparation, correlated speed process. fast flocculation step forms aggregates porous while slow leads dense closed aggregates. These results highlight that better control/understanding nano-composites can lead further improvement. Overall, innovative approach proposed in study should also benefit understanding other nano-composites.