Tuning the Solvothermal Method for the Synthesis of Nanostructured Free-Standing Supercapacitor Electrodes

The development of robust energy storage technologies is necessary due to the continuously growing global energy demand. Supercapacitors exhibit high power density, and further enhancement of their energy density makes them suitable candidates for reliable energy storage applications. In this study, we synthesized NiMn-layered double hydroxide (NML) deposited on activated carbon cloth (CC) as the electrode material for high-performance supercapacitors. The NML is synthesized using a one-step solvothermal method by varying the composition of the reaction medium using different combinations of de-ionized water and ethanol. Various structure characterization techniques are employed to study the synthesized NML@CC nanostructures for phase and morphological information. The effect of reaction media on the electrochemical performance in a three-electrode setup is investigated comprehensively. The maximum electrochemical performance is exhibited by the electrode fabricated using pure ethanol as a reaction medium, with a specific capacitance of 3675 F g−1 @ 2 mA cm−2. This study paves the way to tune synthesis routes to achieve high-performance supercapacitor electrodes.