Hydrothermal Synthesis of Rock Candy-Shaped Mn₃O₄ Nanoparticles with High-Stability Electrochemical Performances.

A type of rock candy-shaped Mn3O4 nanoparticles was synthesized by a facile hydrothermal approach with Pluronic P123 and polyethylene glycol (PEG200), which were chosen as template and reducing agent, respectively. The co-surfactant system played a crucial role in the growth of nanoparticles. In addition, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) were employed to confirm the morphology and structure. These results demonstrated that the length-width ratios of the as-prepared Mn3O4 nanoparticles were about 1.0-1.4 and the average size was about 200 nm. Furthermore, the product presented high-stability electrochemical performances both in the 1.0 M Na2SO4 and in 1.0 M KOH electrolytes, which had the potential as an electrode material for energy conversion and storage devices.