High voltage asymmetric supercapacitor based on MnO2 and graphene electrodes

Asymmetric supercapacitor cells based on MnO2 as positive electrode and graphene as negative electrode have been constructed with 1 M Na2SO4 aqueous electrolyte. Amorphous MnO2 nanoparticles were prepared by reducing KMnO4 in N,N-dimethylformamid (DMF). Graphene was prepared by hydrothermal reduction of exfoliated graphite oxide sheets. The MnO2/graphene asymmetric supercapacitor could operate reversibly at a high cell voltage of 2.0 V, showing an energy density of 25.2 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 100 W kg−1, which is much higher than those of symmetric supercapacitors based on MnO2/MnO2 (4.9 Wh kg−1) and graphene/graphene (3.6 Wh kg−1). Moreover, the asymmetric system exhibits capacitance retention of 96% after 500 cycles.

► Amorphous MnO2 nanoparticles were firstly prepared by reducing KMnO4 in N,N-dimethylformamid.
► Asymmetric MnO2/graphene supercapacitor has been constructed using 1 mol L−1 Na2SO4.
► The asymmetric MnO2/graphene supercapacitor could operate reversibly at cell voltage of 2.0 V.
► The asymmetric cell shows an energy density of 25.2 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 100 W kg−1.