RESEARCH ON THE FABRICATION OF MnO₂/GRAPHENE COMPOSITE MATERIALS AND CAPABILITY OF APPLICATION AS CATHODE MATERIALS FOR ZINC METAL BATTERIES

Abstract

This report presents the synthesis of MnO2 by the chemical precipitation method and graphene oxide by
improved Hummers’ method. Graphene was produced by reducing graphene oxide. TEM observation and X-ray diffraction confirmed that the synthesized MnO2 has a nanorod form with an α-MnO2 structure.
Graphene oxide formation was verified through Raman scattering spectroscopy with two characteristic
peaks at 1344 cm-1
and 1591 cm-1
. When combining MnO2 with graphene to form a cathode for zinc-ion
batteries, the results indicated the potential of this composite as a cathode, showing an initial specific
capacity of 40 mAh/g after 3 cycles.