Study of electrochemical properties and the charge/discharge mechanism for Li4Mn5O12/MnO2-AC hybrid supercapacitor

Spinel Li4Mn5O12 was prepared by a sol–gel method. The manganese oxide and activated carbon composite (MnO2-AC) were prepared by a method in which KMnO4 was reduced by activated carbon (AC). The products were characterized by XRD and FTIR. The hybrid supercapacitor was fabricated with Li4Mn5O12 and MnO2-AC, which were used as materials of the two electrodes. The pseudocapacitance performance of the Li4Mn5O12/MnO2-AC hybrid supercapacitor was studied in various aqueous electrolytes. Electrochemical properties of the Li4Mn5O12/MnO2-AC hybrid supercapacitor were studied by using cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance measurement, and galvanostatic charge/discharge tests. The results show that the hybrid supercapacitor has electrochemical capacitance performance. The charge/discharge test showed that the specific capacitance of 51.3 F g−1 was obtained within potential range of 0–1.3 V at a charge/discharge current density of 100 mA g−1 in 1 mol L−1 Li2SO4 solution. The charge/discharge mechanism of Li4Mn5O12 and MnO2-AC was discussed.