Synthesis of reduced graphene oxide/Mn3O4 nanocomposites for supercapacitors

Reduced graphene oxide/Mn3O4 (rGO/Mn3O4) nanocomposites were prepared from MnSO4 and GO produced by a modified Hummers method. The GO was deoxygenated by heat treatment, and MnO2 generated by hydrolysis of MnSO4 was simultaneously reduced to Mn3O4. The Mn3O4 content in the composites could be tailored by the volume of supernatant in the pristine GO/MnSO4 suspension. The maximum specific capacitance of the rGO/Mn3O4 composite is 284 F g−1 at 50 mA g−1 as an anode material in a saturated K2SO4 solution. This approach separates GO from the suspension without complicated procedures, and cheap MnSO4 is used as a Mn3O4 source. arbon Materials 2014, 29(3): 186–192]