Author(s)

Rahul Singhal¹, Jonathan Lembeck^1,2, Peter C. K. LeMaire III³, Daniel Pereira¹, Peter LeMaire^1*

¹Department of Physics & Engineering Physics, Central Connecticut State University, New Britain, CT, USA.
²Dynetics, 1002 Explorer Blvd, Huntsville, AL, USA.
³Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.

Manganese oxides are of interest as, among a number of other applications, supercapacitor materials for energy storage systems. Nsutite, a naturally occurring Manganese Oxide was studied as a possible high-volume source of materials for supercapacitor applications. X-ray diffraction and thermal analysis (DSC/TGA) measurements were carried out to characterize its physical properties, and Cyclic Voltametry and galvanostatic charge-discharge measurements were carried out to obtain its electrochemical properties. The XRD and thermal results support transitions of nsutite, upon heating which were attributed to conversion to MnO₂, and to Mn₂O₃ and eventually to Mn₃O₄. The electrochemical results of the as mined material show supercapacitance behaviour, suggesting that nsutite, with some heat processing, is to be a promising high-volume source of manganese oxides for supercapacitor applications.

Nsutite, Manganese Oxides, Supercapacitors, Cyclic Voltammetry, Specific Capacitance

Singhal, R. , Lembeck, J. , III, P. , Pereira, D. and LeMaire, P. (2021) Physical and Electrochemical Characterization of Nsutite. American Journal of Analytical Chemistry, 12, 440-445. doi: 10.4236/ajac.2021.1211027.