Sohail Ahmad, Sijie Zhang, Hao Zhang, Abdus Sami, Majid Niaz Akhtar, Imran Shakir, Sagr Alamri, Khaled Fahmi Fawy, Tayba Chudhary, Aboud Ahmed Awadh Bahajjaj
Despite the enormous challenges posed by the global energy crisis, supercapacitors (SCs) have emerged as a promising energy storage technology due to their high power density and long cycling stability. Development of nanostructured materials with a well-defined and consistent morphological design is considered highly advantageous for enhancing electrochemical energy storage performance. In this study, a novel spinel MnCo₂O₄ decorated on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) is proposed as an efficient electrode material that combines high energy density with low cost, simple synthesis, and the use of earth-abundant elements. The morphological and structural properties of MnCo2O4 decorated on MWCNT led to a crystallite size of 63.49 nm, confirmed by powder X-ray diffraction. Electrochemical measurements demonstrated that the MnCo₂O₄/MWCNT electrode exhibits a high-specific capacitance of 571.42 F·g⁻1, along with an energy density of 19.81 Wh·kg⁻1 and a power density of 0.68 kW·kg⁻1 at a current density of 2 A·g⁻1 in a 2 M KOH electrolyte, as determined from galvanostatic charge–discharge (GCD) tests. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) analysis further yielded a specific capacitance of 457.35 F·g⁻1 at a scan rate of 3 mV·s⁻1. In addition, the nanocomposite showed a high ionic conductivity of 29 S·m⁻1, which improves interlayer electron transport, and a low charge transfer resistance (Rct) of 0.21 Ω. Measurements using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) corroborate these conclusions. The improved electrochemical properties of MnCo2O4 decorated on MWCNT have much potential for real-world applications. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2026.
School of Mechanical Engineering, Guizhou University of Engineering Science, Guizhou, 551700, China; School of Science, Guizhou University of Engineering Science, Bijie, 551700, China; College of Physics, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610065, China; School of Chemical Engineering, Guizhou University of Engineering Science, Bijie, 551700, China; Centre of Excellence in Solid State Physics, University of the Punjab (PU), Lahore, 54000, Pakistan; Institute of Physics, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur (IUB), Bahawalpur, 63100, Pakistan; Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department, Engineering Faculty, Universitas Negeri Malang, Malang, 65145, Indonesia; Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, Islamic University of Madinah, Madinah, Saudi Arabia; Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, King Khalid University, Abha, 61421, Saudi Arabia; Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Research Centre for Advanced Materials Science (RCAMS), King Khalid University, P.O. Box 960, AlQura’a, Abha, 61421, Saudi Arabia; School of Chemistry, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, China; Department of Chemistry, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia
