In-situ growth of MnO2 crystals under nanopore-constraint in carbon nanofibers and their electrochemical performance

Growing MnO2 nanocrystals in the bulk of porous carbon nanofibers is conducted in a KMnO4 aqueous solution aimed to enhance the electrochemical performance of MnO2. The rate of redox reaction between KMnO4 and carbon was controlled by the concentration of KMnO4 in a neutral solution. The MnO2 nanoparticles grow along with (211) crystal faces when the redox reaction happens on the surface of fibers under 1D constraint, while the nanoparticles grow along with (200) crystal faces when the redox reaction happens in the bulk of fibers under 3D constraint. The composite, where MnO2 nanoparticles are formed in the bulk under a constraint, yields an electrode material for supercapacitors showing good electron transport, rapid ion penetration, fast and reversible Faradaic reaction, and excellent rate performance. The capacitance of the composite electrode could be 1282 F g-1 under a current density of 0.2 A g-1 in 1 M Na2SO4 electrolyte. A symmetric supercapacitor delivers energy density of 36 Wh kg-1 with power density of 39 W kg-1, and can maintain 7.5 Wh kg-1 at 10.3 kW kg-1. It exhibits an excellent electrochemical cycling stability with 101% initial capacitance and 95% columbic efficiency even after 1000 cycles of charge/discharge.