See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/346680226 Effect of various aqueous electrolytes on the electrochemical performance of α-MnO 2 nanorods as electrode materials for supercapacitor application Article in Electrochimica Acta · November 2020 DOI: 10.1016/j.electacta.2020.137412 CITATIONS READS 0 63 5 authors, including: Jayachandran Murugeshan Aleena Rose SRM Institute of Science and Technology SRM Institute of Science and Technology 2 PUBLICATIONS 0 CITATIONS 11 PUBLICATIONS 67 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE T Maiyalagan Poongodi Nachimuthu SRM Institute of Science and Technology Erode Sengunthar Engineering College 227 PUBLICATIONS 5,520 CITATIONS 1 PUBLICATION 0 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects: Electro ceramics View project supercapacitor View project All content following this page was uploaded by Jayachandran Murugeshan on 07 December 2020. The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. SEE PROFILE Electrochimica Acta 366 (2021) 137412 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Electrochimica Acta journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/electacta Effect of various aqueous electrolytes on the electrochemical performance of α -MnO2 nanorods as electrode materials for supercapacitor application M. Jayachandran a, Aleena Rose a, T. Maiyalagan b, N. Poongodi c, T. Vijayakumar a,∗ a Futuristic Materials Research Centre for Planetary Exploration, Department of Physics and Nanotechnology, College of Engineering and Technology, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, SRM Nagar, Kattankulathur-603203, Kanchipuram, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India Electrochemical Energy Laboratory, Department of Chemistry and Research Institute, College of Engineering and Technology, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, SRM Nagar, Kattankulathur-603203, Kanchipuram, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India c Department of Physics, Erode Sengunthar Engineering College, Thudupathi, Erode 638 057, India b a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 16 July 2020 Revised 27 October 2020 Accepted 31 October 2020 Available online 10 November 2020 Keywords: Nanorods α -MnO2 Hydrothermal Supercapacitor Mixture electrolyte a b s t r a c t We report a facile one-step hydrothermal method to prepare α -MnO2 nanorods for their application as electrode materials for high-quality supercapacitors. The structural and morphological properties of the prepared active materials were investigated using Powder X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy (HR-TEM) analyses. Fourier Transform-Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) and Bruner-Emmert-Teller (BET) analyses were used to study the functional groups and surface area properties of the α -MnO2 nanorods. Further the electrochemical supercapacitive performance of α -MnO2 nanorods were evaluated using Cyclic voltammetry (CV), Chronopotentiometry (CP), and Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analyses in various aqueous electrolytes (1 M Na2 SO4 , 0.5 M KOH and 1 M Na2 SO4 +0.5 M KOH). The electrochemical results show that the α -MnO2 nanorods delivered a high specific capacitance of 570F/g at 1A/g current density in the mixture electrolyte consisting of 1 M Na2 SO4 and 0.5 M KOH. In addition, a coulombic efficiency of ~80% was found at 10 A/g current density. And also, the capacitance retention was found to be ~80% after 10,0 0 0 cycles in 1MNa2 SO4 +0.5 M KOH mixture aqueous electrolyte solution. The present work revealed the excellent performance of α -MnO2 nanorod electrode materials in the mixture aqueous electrolyte solution. This electrode-electrolyte combination was found to be the prospective system for supercapacitor applications. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Demand for ecological and consistent energy resources and storage systems is mounting due to fossil fuel exhaustion and environmental pollution [1,2]. In these recent years, electrochemical supercapacitor (ultracapacitors) have attracted researchers in the energy storage field as they possess cycle constancy, high power density, high energy density, fast charging-discharging rate, longterm cyclability, safety and capability to function as a bridge between conventional supercapacitors and lithium-ion batteries [3,4]. Supercapacitor can be classified based on charge storage process, namely (i) Electric double-layer capacitors (EDLC) and (ii) Pseudocapacitors (PC). EDLCs accumulate charge in an electric double layer through the electrostatic adsorption of electrolyte ions onto the electrode surface [5–7]. In contrast, the PCs store charges ∗ Corresponding author. E-mail address: vijayakt1@srmist.edu.in (T. Vijayakumar). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2020.137412 0013-4686/© 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. via faradaic redox reaction, electrosorption, and intercalation. Since the properties of electrode materials are vital in deciding the performance of supercapacitor, potential materials with excellent microstructure, high conductivity, and large surface area are essential to be used as working electrodes [8–10]. Carbonaceous materials (graphene, carbon nanotubes), Transition metal oxides (oxides of ruthenium, nickel, vanadium), and conducting polymers (polypyrrole, polyaniline) are some of the commonly researched electrode materials. Transition metal hydroxides TM (OH) such as Ni (OH)2, Co(OH)2, Nd(OH)3 , La(OH)3 and their layered double hydroxides have been primarily considered as pseudocapacitive electrode materials [11–14]. Previous reports reveal the potential of transition metal oxides (TMOs), such as RuO2 [15], Co3 O4 [16], NiO [17], V2 O5 [18], and MnO2 [19] to be used as electrode materials in supercapacitors [20–22]. In addition to this, TMOs are stable during redox reactions, show different oxidation states, easily accessible, and abundant [23,24]. Among TMOs, MnO2 is a prominent compound which shows superior electrochemical behavior and having M. Jayachandran, A. Rose, T. Maiyalagan et al. Electrochimica Acta 366 (2021) 137412 2.2. Synthesis of α -MnO2 nanorods applications in catalysts, artificial oxides, dry cell components, inorganic dye for ceramics, electrochemical battery electrodes, and supercapacitors [25–27]. MnO2 has also been found to have critical applications in a lot of energy conversion and storage processes [28–30]. Manganese oxides can be engineered in such a way that they can exhibit properties beneficial for energy conversion and storage. MnO2 is a cost-effective and eco-friendly electrode material with an excellent theoretical capacitance of 1370 F/g [31]. Contrary to NiO and Co3 O4 , it gives a full working potential window (around 1 V), thereby leading to higher energy density. Besides, MnO2 crystal facilitates the diffusion of ions compared to other spinal structures. Amongst various MnO2 polymorphs (α -, β -, γ -, δ - and ε-MnO2 ), α -MnO2 is considered as the best because of its prominent 2 × 2 tunnel structure of about 0.46 nm magnitude and high surface area [32,33]. Since it is challenging to create MnO2 showing rapid and reversible surface redox reactions, a possible technique is to curtail the diffusion length amid electrode-electrolyte interface. Nano-sized MnO2 is a key to this problem as its enormously low dimensions can trim down the diffusion length when related to their bulk equivalents. A recent report demonstrates the synthesis of nano α -MnO2 in different morphologies for electrode applications [34–36]. Aghazadeh et al. reported the preparation of MnO2 nanorods through cathodic electrodeposition method which delivered a high specific capacitance of 242F/g at 2A/g in 1 M Na2 SO4 electrolyte [37]. Wang et al. studied the electrochemical properties of porous nano-MnO2 prepared through quick-redox process and achieved a specific capacitance of 198F/g at 1A/g in 1 M Na2 SO4 +9 M KOH electrolyte [38]. Liu et al. developed MnO2 /porous carbon microspheres which exhibited a high specific capacitance value of 459F/g at 1A/g in 6 M KOH electrolyte [39]. Wu et al. reported the electrochemical behavior of MnO2 in a wide working potential window, 0 to 2.2 V, with neutral aqueous electrolytes for supercapacitor applications [40]. Among the various electrolytes, aqueous electrolytes with high conductivity accelerate and improve the charge storage due to the presence of ions in them. They are also recognized for the faster carrier rates which help in achieving superior supercapacitors. It is less expensive, nontoxic, and easy to handle in research laboratory. Aqueous electrolytes including KOH, Na2 SO4 , NaOH, and KCl have been extensively used in research instead of organic electrolytes [41]. Here we present the investigation on the effect of various aqueous electrolytes on the electrochemical properties of α -MnO2 nanorods prepared through hydrothermal method. Section 2 provides the experimental procedure and characterization techniques used for the research. Section 3 elaborates the obtained results comprising X-ray diffractograms, transmission electron micrographs, Fourier transform infrared spectrum, and Nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms. The results of electrochemical studies such as cyclic voltammograms, charge-discharge patterns, and Nyquist plots which focus on the performance of α -MnO2 nanorods with respect to various aqueous electrolytes (1 M Na2 SO4 , 0.5 M KOH and 1 M Na2 SO4 +0.5 M KOH) are also included in this section. Section 4 gives the conclusion of this research work. The α -MnO2 nanorods were prepared using a hydrothermal route reported earlier with some variations [42]. Briefly, 3 g KMnO4 was dissolved in 60 ml De-ionized water (DI) water. The solution was stirred for 30 min at a fixed temperature of 50 °C. Then 0.2 g SiO2 dissolved in 1 ml HNO3 was added drop wise to the mixture under constant stirring. When the solution obtained a purple color, it was transferred into a 100 ml stainless steel autoclave (Teflon lining). After sealing, it was kept inside the air oven at 160 °C for 12 h. Once the autoclave reached room temperature naturally, the precipitate was collected by centrifugation and washed using DI water and ethanol. Lastly, the sample was parched in a hot air oven at 120 °C for 8 h. 2.3. Materials characterization The crystal structure, phase composition, and sample purity were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) (BRUKER USA D8Advance, Davinci) method. The morphology and microstructure of the materials were observed by High-Resolution Transmission Electron Microscope (HRTEM) (JEOL Japan, JEM-2100 Plus). The Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectrum was recorded using Perkin-Elmer Spectrum in the range of 400 to 40 0 0 cm−1 with a resolution of 2 cm−1 using KBr pellets. The presence of different elements in the sample was studied via Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS, OXFORD 51-XMS). Surface area and pore size distribution analysis was carried out using Bruner-Emmert-Teller (BET) methods. 2.4. Electrochemical measurements The electrochemical experiments were accomplished using Biologic SP-300, with a three-electrode system, where platinum wire, Hg/HgO, and α -MnO2 coated on nickel foam were used as the counter electrode, reference electrode, and working electrode respectively. Active material, α -MnO2 , was mixed with the conducting additive (carbon black) and binder (PVDF) in the ratio 85:10:5 using N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) to form homogenous slurry. Thus the electrode materials for testing were prepared by drop casting the slurry onto the nickel foam (1 × 1 cm). Then the electrodes were dried at 80 °C for 12 h. The active material mass on the nickel foam was found to be 2 mg. Electrochemical Impedance Spectra (EIS) was recorded in the frequency range of 105 Hz – 10−1 Hz. Cyclicvoltammetry (CV) and Chronopotentiometry (CP) techniques were performed in the potential window 0 V–0.6 V. The above-mentioned electrochemical techniques were completed using different aqueous electrolyte solutions such as 1MNa2 SO4 , 0.5MKOH, and a mixture electrolyte 1 M Na2 SO4 +0.5 M KOH. The specific capacitance of electrode material α -MnO2 was computed from CV and CP patterns using the subsequent Eqs. (1) and (2), (3) respectively [43,44,45]. The specific capacitance dQ/dV was calculated using the voltammetric charge integrated from the cyclic voltammogram according to the following equation [43]. Csp (F /g) = 2. Experimental procedure Q (1) E × m In Eq. (1) Csp is the specific capacitance (in F/g), Q is the charge (in C), ࢞E is the potential window (in V), and m is the mass of active material (in g). Specific capacity due to battery-Type charge storage behavior can be estimated from the CV curves using the following Eq. (2) [44, 64] 2.1. Materials Potassium permanganate (KMnO4 ), Nitric acid (HNO3 ), Silicon dioxide (SiO2 ), Potassium hydroxide (KOH), and Sodium sulfate (Na2 SO4 ) were procured from Sigma Aldrich. Carbon black, Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), and N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) was bought from Merck. For the synthesis of α -MnO2 nanorods, substance grade chemicals were used with no extra refinement. Specificcapacity(mAh/g ) = 2 Specificcapacitance(F/g ) × E 3.6 (2) M. Jayachandran, A. Rose, T. Maiyalagan et al. Electrochimica Acta 366 (2021) 137412 Fig. 1. Hydrothermal synthesis of α -MnO2 nanorods. In Eq. (2) E is the potential window (in V). Csp (F /g) = I × t m × V (3) In Eq. (3) Csp is the specific capacitance (F/g), I is the applied current (A), m denotes the mass of active material (g), V represents potential window (V), and t is the discharge time of one cycle (s). 3. Results and discussion 3.1. X-ray diffraction analysis of α -MnO2 nanorods Fig. 1. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of α -MnO2 nanorods are displayed in Fig. 2. The prime diffraction peaks at 2θ positions 12.88° , 17.90° , 28.62°, 37.34° , 41.75° ,50.12°, 56.59° 60.37° ,69.82° , and 75.52° are consistent with the characteristic diffraction peaks of MnO2 (JCPDF No: 44–014) corresponding to the lattice planes (110), (200), (220), (310), (211), (330), (301), (411), (600), (521), (002), (541), (730) and (332) respectively. The space group and lattice parameters for the sample were found to be I4/m, a = b = 9.78 Å, c = 2.86 Å. Thus, the sample prepared with KMnO4 , SiO2 , and HNO3 as precursors was identified as pure α -MnO2 with tetragonal structure [37]. The sharpness of diffraction peaks indicates high crystalline of the synthesized α -MnO2 , and no extra peaks were observed, which confirms its phase purity [46,47]. The average crystallite size (D) was calculated using the following Scherer Eq. (4): D= kλ β cos θ Fig. 2. XRD pattern of α -MnO2 nanorods. where D is the crystallite size (nm), K is the shape factor (0.9), λ is the wavelength of X-ray used (1.5418 Å), β is the Full Width at Half-Maximum (FWHM), and θ is the Bragg angle. The dislocation density (δ ) was estimated from the following Eq. (5): δ= 1 D2 (5) where δ is the dislocation density and D is the average crystallite size. (4) 3 M. Jayachandran, A. Rose, T. Maiyalagan et al. Electrochimica Acta 366 (2021) 137412 Table 1 Structural parameters of α -MnO2 nanorods. Sample α-MnO2 2θ (degree) (hkl) d-spacing (Å) Crystallite size (nm) Dislocation density (δ ) (lines/m2 ) × 1014 Lattice strain (e × 10−13 ) 12.72 18.00 28.64 37.38 42.77 49.75 56.04 60.01 65.29 69.37 111 200 310 211 301 411 600 521 002 541 6.95 4.92 3.11 2.40 2.11 1.83 1.73 1.54 1.42 1.35 54.99 36.98 57.29 50.51 70.96 36.42 18.71 76.30 64.09 39.24 3.30 7.31 3.04 3.91 1.98 7.53 2.85 1.71 2.43 6.49 6.21 2.96 6.15 6.86 1.50 3.81 1.85 4.54 5.26 3.53 EDX spectrum given in Fig. 5(h) proves that the final product comprises only Mn and O, which further confirms that the nanorods are pure α -MnO2. 3.4. Surface area analysis of α -MnO2 nanorods Fig. 6 illustrates the nitrogen adsorption-desorption measurement of α -MnO2 nanorods coated on nickel foam (working electrode). According to IUPAC classification, the presence of hysteresis loop signifies that the electrode is of Type IV isotherm. Initial loop and second loop imply the adsorption and desorption respectively. Type IV isotherm can be attributed to the mesoporous characteristic of working electrode. The specific surface area of the active site was found to be 180 m2 .g−1 [50,51]. 3.5. Electrochemical performance of α -MnO2 nanorods The synthesized α -MnO2 nanorods can show different electrochemical behavior depending upon the properties of electrodeelectrolyte interface and ion transport rate in the charge-discharge process. Fig. 7(a)–(c) illustrates the CV curves obtained for α -MnO2 electrodes in 1 M Na2 SO4 , 0.5 M KOH, and 1 M Na2 SO4 +0.5 M KOH electrolytes at different scan rates (5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 70, and 100 mV/s). As shown in Fig. 7(a), the CV patterns of the material in 1 M Na2 SO4 electrolyte are not rectangular and do not show any redox peaks resembling the surface redox pseudocapacitive behavior. This system achieved a specific capacitance of 262F/g at 5 mV/s. Following Eqs. (7) and (8) gives the underlying mechanisms for supercapacitive charge storage in MnO2 [52–54]. Fig. 3. FTIR spectrum analysis of α -MnO2 nanorods. The lattice strain (ε ) was determined using Eq. (6) given below: ε= β cos θ 4 (6) where ε is the lattice strain, β is the Full Width at Half-Maximum (FWHM), and θ is the Bragg angle. The structural parameters of the material are shown in Table 1. 3.2. Fourier transform infrared analysis of α -MnO2 nanorods Fig. 3 shows the FTIR spectrum of α -MnO2 nanorods. The two broad, strong absorption peaks appear at 1050 and 794 cm−1 that can be correlated to the stretching and bending vibration modes of Mn–O–Mn band of tetrahedral and octahedral sites. The corresponding to the absorption band at 1636 cm−1 and 2081 cm−1 in this presence of carbonyl group (C–O) stretching vibration. The weak absorption peak observed at 539 cm−1 represents moisture absorption on the surface of sample and hence indicates the OH bending vibration combined with Mn atoms [48]. MnO2 + M+ + e− ↔ MnOOM (7) (MnO2 )surface + Na+ + e− ↔ MnO−2 Na+ surface (8) where, M+ = H, Li, Na or K Reaction taking place as a result of proton (alkali metal cations (M+ )) intercalation into (or extraction from) the α -MnO2 electrode is given in Eq. (7). This includes a reversible surface redox reaction amid Mn4+ and Mn3+ ions. The mechanism showed in Eq. (8) is based on the proton (alkali metal cations) adsorption to (or desorption from) the working electrode surface. Former reaction is predominant in crystalline MnO2 while the latter is exhibited by amorphous MnO2 [55,56]. Fig. 7(b) illustrates the cyclic voltammograms of α -MnO2 electrodes in 0.5 M aqueous KOH electrolyte. Anodic and cathodic peaks appearing at 0.45 V and 0.35 V respectively indicates the redox reactions occurring inside the electrodes. Similar to the abovementioned system, the highest specific capacitance of 105F/g was attained for the scan rate 5 mV/s. The presence of redox peaks in the CV patterns suggests the faradic dominated electrochemical reactions and partial redox intercalation of α -MnO2 nanorods which confirm the battery like behavior. The redox reactions of MnO2 as explained in the following Eqs. (9) and (10). 3.3. Morphological analysis of α -MnO2 nanorods Fig. 4(a)–(f) gives the HRTEM micrographs of α -MnO2 nanorods and Fig. 4(a)–(e) reveals the nanorod like structures with a diameter of <100 nm and length up to several micrometers. The single set of parallel planes with an interplanar spacing (d) of 0.55 nm illustrated in Fig 4(f) is consistent with the (310) plane of α -MnO2 XRD pattern [49]. Fig. 5(g) reveals the SAED pattern of the synthesized material. The SAED pattern displays four lattice planes of α -MnO2 -(111), (200), (310), and (211)-which can also be observed in Fig. 2. The 4 M. Jayachandran, A. Rose, T. Maiyalagan et al. Electrochimica Acta 366 (2021) 137412 Fig. 4. (a)–(f) HRTEM micrographs of α -MnO2 nanorods. Fig. 5. (g) SAED pattern and (h) EDX spectrum of α -MnO2 nanorods. MnO2 + M+ + e− ↔ MnOOM (MnO2 ) + K+ + e− ↔ MnO−2 K+ tions comprises the electrochemical performance of MnO2 in aqueous KOH electrolyte [57–60]. The specific capacity of the α -MnO2 nanorods at 5 mV/s in 0.5 M KOH was determined from Eq. (2) as 17.5 mAh/g. Fig. 7(c) displays the CV patterns of α -MnO2 electrodes in 1 M Na2 SO4 +0.5 M KOH electrolyte. It is obvious that the cyclic voltammograms obtained for both aqueous KOH and combination of KOH–Na2 SO4 electrolytes are similar with exact anodic and ca- (9) (10) Thus the non-faradic (adsorption and desorption of K+ cations by MnO2 surface – Eq. (9)) and faradic (intercalation and removal of electrolyte ions by interstitial sites of MnO2 – Eq. (10)) reac5 M. Jayachandran, A. Rose, T. Maiyalagan et al. Electrochimica Acta 366 (2021) 137412 tained using Eq. (2) as 157 mAh/g. Reaction mechanisms of the respective electrochemical system are given in Eqs. (11) and (12) [61– 63]. (MnO2 )surface + Na+ + e− ↔ MnO−2 Na+ surface (11) (MnO2 ) + K+ + e− ↔ MnO−2 K+ (12) Fig. 7(d) shows the variation of specific capacitance with scan rate for different electrochemical systems. Specific capacitance is lessening with the escalating scan rates. This behavior can be ascribed to the fast redox reactions or intercalation/extraction which does not provide enough time for the ions to access the active sites of electrode material. Hence the ability for charge storage is very less at higher scan rates and vice versa. Among all the systems, α -MnO2 electrode in 1 M Na2 SO4 +0.5 M KOH electrolyte achieved the highest specific capacitance of 945F/g (157mAh/g) at 5 mV/s. Table 2 shows the specific capacitance values obtained for each electrochemical system from cyclic voltammograms at different scan rates. The b-value which decides the mechanism of the electrode material was determined for α -MnO2 electrode in three electrolytes based on the equation i = aυ b where i is the CV peak current (mA/g), a and b are the adjustable parameters, and υ is the scan rate (mV/s). The slope of log (i) vs. log (υ ) plot gives the b-value. If the b-value is 1 it is capacitive mechanism and if the b-value is 0.5 it indicates diffusion controlled mechanism [64]. It is clear from Fig. 8(a)−8(c) that the b-values of α -MnO2 in 1 M Na2 SO4 , 0.5 M KOH and 1 M Na2 SO4 +0.5 M KOH electrolytes in the transitional Fig. 6. Nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms of α -MnO2 nanorods. thodic peak positions. The CV patterns reveal the faradic dominated electrochemical reactions and partial redox intercalation of α -MnO2 nanorods which confirm the battery like behavior. The highest specific capacitance of 945 F/g was acquired for the lowest scan rate 5 mV/s. α -MnO2 in the mixed electrolyte system acquired this highest specific capacitance as a consequence of its surface redox pseudocapacitive nature and faradic-intercalation dominated battery nature aided by Na2 SO4 and KOH, respectively. The specific capacity of this electrochemical system at 5 mV/s was ob- Fig. 7. CV patterns of α -MnO2 nanorods in different electrolytes (a) 1 M Na2 SO4 (b) 0.5 M KOH (c) 1 M Na2 SO4 +0.5 M KOH, and (d) Effect of scan rate on specific capacitance. 6 M. Jayachandran, A. Rose, T. Maiyalagan et al. Electrochimica Acta 366 (2021) 137412 Table 2 Specific capacitance calculated from CV patterns at different scan rates. Sl. no. Scan rate (mV/s) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 5 10 20 30 40 50 70 100 Specific capacitance (F/g) α -MnO2 in 1 M Na2 SO4 α -MnO2 in 0.5 M KOH α -MnO2 in 1 M Na2 SO4 +0.5 M KOH 262 206 161 132 113 100 80 64 105 62 40 32 28 25 21 18 945 650 331 207 164 137 85 70 Fig. 8. log (i) vs. log (υ ) plot of α -MnO2 nanorods in different electrolytes (a) 1 M Na2 SO4 (b) 0.5 M KOH (c) 1 M Na2 SO4 +0.5 M KOH. area (~0.5–0.7). Hence the electrochemical behavior of α -MnO2 electrode in the three electrolytes can be described as the result of both surface redox reactions and diffusion controlled mechanisms. Fig. 9(a)–(c) illustrates the CP curves obtained for α -MnO2 electrodes in 1 M Na2 SO4 , 0.5 M KOH, and 1 M Na2 SO4 +0.5 M KOH electrolytes respectively for different current densities (1, 2, 3, 4,5, 7 and 10A/g). Specific capacitance from CP patterns was calculated using Eq. (3). Fig. 9(a) illustrates the charge-discharge patterns obtained for α -MnO2 nanorods in 1 M Na2 SO4 electrolyte. The highest specific capacitance for this system was found to be 185F/g at 1A/g current density. The result is comparable with the specific capacitance values reported in previous studies on α -MnO2 . Zhao et al. acquired an enhanced electrochemical property for MnO2 /HCNFs nanocomposite in 1 M Na2 SO4 with a specific capacitance of 293.6 F/g at 0.5 A/g. Tan et al reported the preparation of MnO2 /CNT nanocomposites through chemical deposition method for which they achieved a specific capacitance of 115F/g at 0.5A/g. [65–67]. Fig. 9(b) shows the charge-discharge behavior of α -MnO2 nanorods in 0.5 M KOH electrolyte solution. Herein the highest specific capacitance value, 200 F/g, was obtained for the lowest current density, 1A/g. Tan et al. examined MnO2 /CNT nanocomposites and reported a specific capacitance of 106 F/g at 0.5 A/g in KOH electrolyte. Fig. 9(c) reveals the CP patterns of α -MnO2 nanorods in 1 M Na2 SO4 +0.5 M KOH electrolyte. Among the three systems, the electrochemical setup with mixture electrolyte achieved the highest specific capacitance of 570 F/g at 1 A/g. These values substantiate the good supercapacitive behavior displayed by α -MnO2 nanorods in the mixture electrolyte. Hong-Qiang Wang et al. reported the electrochemical studies on porous nano-MnO2 electrodes in the mixture electrolyte solution of 1 M Na2 SO4 and 7 M. Jayachandran, A. Rose, T. Maiyalagan et al. Electrochimica Acta 366 (2021) 137412 Fig. 9. CP patterns of α -MnO2 nanorods in different electrolytes (a) 1 M Na2 SO4 (b) 0.5 M KOH (c) 1 M Na2 SO4 +0.5 M KOH, and (d) Effect of current density on specific capacitance. Table 3 Specific capacitance calculated from CP patterns at different current densities. Sl. no. Current density (A/g) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1 2 3 4 5 7 10 Specific capacitance (F/g) α -MnO2 in 1 M Na2 SO4 α -MnO2 in 0.5 M KOH α -MnO2 in 1 M Na2 SO4 +0.5 M KOH 185 133 100 80 75 50 40 200 140 120 100 81 54 43 570 457 395 346 303 256 200 9 M KOH for which they obtained a specific capacitance of 120 F/g at 5 A/g [68,69]. Fig. 9(d) gives a comparison of outcomes from the Chronopotentiometry performed on α -MnO2 nanorods in various electrolytes and variation of specific capacitance with current density. As mentioned earlier, electrode material with mixture electrolyte acquired higher specific capacitance when compared to the same with single electrolyte. Hence an increase in the conductivity of single electrolytes can be noticed when mixed with each other. This confirms the improved electrochemical properties of α -MnO2 nanorods in mixture electrolyte system, 1 M Na2 SO4 +0.5 M KOH. Fig. 9(d) also shows the diminution in specific capacitance with rise in current density. At high current density the ions move very fast which reduce their duration of intercalation or redox reaction thereby decreasing the charge storage ability. Table 3 shows the specific capacitance values obtained for each electrochemical sys- tem from the charge-discharge curves recorded at different current densities. Comparison of material’s coulombic efficiency in different electrolytes is shown in Fig. 10. Coulombic efficiency of α -MnO2 nanorods was found to be 98% for the mixture electrolyte (1 M Na2 SO4 +0.5 M KOH), 95% for 1 M Na2 SO4 , and 90% for 0.5 M KOH at 1A/g current density. This result indicates the excellent reversibility of the material during charge-discharge process in 1 M Na2 SO4+0.5 M KOH electrolyte [70-71]. Cyclic stability of α -MnO2 nanorods in different electrolytes at 10 A/g current density is illustrated in Fig. 11. The investigation on long-term charge-discharge performance was carried out for 10,0 0 0 cycles. After this duration, the capacitance retention value for α -MnO2 nanorods was found to be 80%, 75%, and 70% in 1 M Na2 SO4 +0.5 M KOH, 1 M Na2 SO4 , and 0.5 M KOH electrolytes respectively. The highest capacitance retention was exhibited by the 8 M. Jayachandran, A. Rose, T. Maiyalagan et al. Electrochimica Acta 366 (2021) 137412 Fig. 10. Coulombic efficiency of α -MnO2 nanorods. Fig. 11. Cycle stability analysis of α -MnO2 nanorods. electrode material in mixture electrolyte substantiating its high stability and conductivity. This good capacitance retention shown by α -MnO2 nanorods throughout the long charge-discharge cycles reveals their excellent supercapacitive behavior. Table 4 provides the specific capacitance and capacitance retention shown by MnO2 nanorods and different MnO2 based composites in recent reports. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) is carried out for the α -MnO2 nanorods electrode materials in the frequency range of 100 kHz to 0.01 Hz at an open circuit potential with AC amplitude of 5 mv [80]. Fig. 12 (a–d) shows the Nyquist plots and corresponding equivalent circuits for α -MnO2 nanorod electrodes in 1 M Na2 SO4 , 0.5 M KOH, and 1 M Na2 SO4 +0.5 M KOH respectively. A semicircle and nearly vertical line can be found in the high frequency range and low frequency range correspondingly [81]. The real axis (X-axis) intercept in the high frequency region Fig. 12. Nyquist plots of α -MnO2 in (a) 1 M Na2 SO4 (b) 0.5 M KOH (c) 1 M Na2 SO4 +0.5 M KOH, and (d) Nyquist plots of α -MnO2 in 1 M Na2 SO4 and 1 M Na2 SO4 +0.5 M KOH. 9 M. Jayachandran, A. Rose, T. Maiyalagan et al. Electrochimica Acta 366 (2021) 137412 Table 4 Comparison of the obtained results with other MnO2 based research works. S. no Electrode Materials Electrolyte Current density (A/g) Specific Capacitance (F/g) Capacitance retention (%) (Cycles) Ref 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. MnO2 /g-C3N4 MnO2 nanosheet BN-MC/α -MnO2 α -Fe2 O3 /MnO2 MnO2 Nanorod MnO2 /Graphene MnO2 Nanorods MnO2 Nanorods α-MnO2 Nanorods 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0.5 1 1 2 1 1 0.71 1 211 293 338 216 242 278.5 362 346 570 90% [1000] 89% [10,000] 95.6% [2000] 89.2% [1000] 76.5% [1000] 75% [10,000] 83% [5000] 86.6% [1500] 80% [10,000] [72] [73] [74] [75] [76] [77] [78] [79] This Work M M M M M M M M M Na2 SO4 Na2 SO4 Na2 SO4 KOH Na2 SO4 KOH Na2 SO4 Na2 SO4 Na2 SO4 + 0.5 M KOH indicates the internal resistance (Rs ), the semicircle diameter gives the charge transfer resistance (Rct ) and the straight line implies the Warburg diffusion resistance [82]. From Fig. 12(a), Rct values of α -MnO2 nanorods in 1 M Na2 SO4 electrolyte solution before and after 10,0 0 0 cycles were found to be 1.5 Ω and 2.5 Ω, respectively. After stability test, the inclined line in the low frequency region tends to be parallel to imaginary axis. This confirms the increase in supercapacitive behavior of the material after 10,0 0 0 cycles. Similarly, from Fig. 12(b), Rct values of α -MnO2 nanorods in 0.5 M KOH solution before and after cyclic stability were revealed as 5Ω and 10Ω respectively. This electrochemical system shows the highest resistance values. Also the low frequency region line becomes more inclined after stability run indicating an increase in diffusive behavior. From Fig. 12(c), Rct values of the electrode material in 1 M Na2 SO4 +0.5 M KOH electrolyte before and after 10,0 0 0 cycles were observed as 4 Ω and 6 Ω, respectively. Nyquist plots of two electrochemical systems are given in Fig. 12(d) where both systems reveal comparatively good properties. Acknowledgments The authors thank Micro-Raman facility of SRM Central Instrumentation Facility (SCIF), and Nanotechnology Research Center (NRC), SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur, Tamil Nadu, India for the support in characterization studies. The author T. Vijayakumar acknowledges the financial support obtained from the Department of Space, Government of India [Grant no. B.19012/57/2016-II] through RESPOND project and the selective excellence initiative award received from SRM Institute of Science and Technology. The author T. Maiyalagan acknowledges the financial support from the Department of Science and Technology-Science and Engineering Research Board [DST-SERB; No. ECR/2016/002025], through Early Career Research Award and support of Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC) of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India, SPARC Grant No: SPARC/20182019/P1122/SL. References 4. 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Cyclic voltammograms, charge-discharge patterns, and Nyquist plots revealed the variations in electrochemical behavior of the material due to changes in electrolyte. Electrode material exhibited an improved supercapacitive behavior in mixture electrolyte solution. The electrode material delivered a high specific capacitance of 570 F/g at 1 A/g current density in the mixture electrolyte solution, 1 M Na2 SO4 +0.5 M KOH. The same system showed a good cyclic stability of 10,0 0 0 cycles with capacitance retention of 80% at 10 A/g. High conductivity and low resistance of α -MnO2 nanorods in 1 M Na2 SO4 +0.5 M KOH further proved the role of this electrolyte solution in enhancing the supercapacitive behavior of the electrode material. Declaration of Competing Interest None. Credit authorship contribution statement M. Jayachandran: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing. 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