Tin Oxide/Carbon Nanocomposites as the Electrode Material for Supercapacitors Using a Liquid Phase Plasma Method

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Supercapacitors are crucial energy storage devices.
• Developing advanced electrode materials is key to improving supercapacitor performance.
• Tin oxide and activated carbon are promising materials for energy storage applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize tin oxide/carbon nanocomposite (TOCNC) using liquid phase plasma (LPP) for supercapacitor electrodes.
• To investigate the effect of LPP duration on the properties and performance of TOCNC.
• To evaluate the electrochemical performance of TOCNC as a supercapacitor electrode material.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of TOCNC via liquid phase plasma (LPP) method.
• Characterization of nanoparticle size and dispersion.
• Electrochemical testing of supercapacitor electrodes, including specific capacitance and resistance measurements.

Main Results:

• Uniform dispersion of 5 nm spherical tin oxide nanoparticles on activated carbon powder (ACP).
• Increased tin oxide precipitation and specific capacitance with longer LPP duration.
• TOCNC exhibited lower resistances and higher initial resistance slopes compared to bare ACP, with improvements correlating to LPP duration.

Conclusions:

• The LPP method is effective for synthesizing TOCNC with enhanced supercapacitor electrode properties.
• Optimizing LPP duration can significantly improve the capacitance and reduce the resistance of TOCNC.
• TOCNC shows great potential as a high-performance electrode material for supercapacitors.