Composition effect of Mn(x)Fe(3-x)O4 on its electrochemical capacitance

As the world population increases exponentially, so does the demand for energy required to sustain life. The world therefore sees a greater need for alternative renewable sources of energy, and better energy storage devices are essential to enhance the viability of such resources. Conventional batteries currently serve as energy storage modules in solar cell and wind turbines but suffer from limited lifespan and take hours to charge up. Supercapacitors, a special class of electrochemical capacitor invented in the 1950’s; on the other hand, possess properties like fast charging time and long service lifespan under repeated usage. Hence, scientists have been looking at incorporating them into battery systems to enhance energy storage so as to maximise energy management of electrical systems. Manganese Oxide (MnO2) is a material much researched on as a promising supercapacitor electrode material due to its high theoretical capacitance, coupled with low environmental toxicity and relatively cheap price. However, it was found that the capacitance – charge storage capability in other words – of MnO2 to be significantly lower than its hypothetical value. In this project, the addition of iron to MnO2 was suggested in an attempt to increase the capacitance of MnO2. Various amount of iron was synthesised with MnO2 in the form of MnxFe3-xO4 and the samples were put through charge measuring techniques in a three electrode configuration with 1M NaOH as electrolyte at operating voltage of 0.9 V, to determine if iron enhances the performance of MnO2.Bachelor of Engineering (Materials Engineering