Hierarchical α-Fe2O3@MnO2 core-shell nanotubes as electrode materials for high-performance supercapacitors

The incompetency of conventional single-phase electrode materials remains a stumbling block for making further breakthroughs in high-performance supercapacitors. In this work, α-Fe 2 O 3 nanotube@MnO 2 nanosheet hierarchical networks with tunable mass ratio of MnO 2 to α-Fe 2 O 3 are prepared via a simple two-step method for supercapacitor electrodes. The α-Fe 2 O 3 @MnO 2 core-shell heterostructures, especially the FM10020 containing 60.1   wt% of MnO 2 , exhibit a larger specific capacitance of 289.9   F   g −1 at 1.0   A   g −1 , a better rate capability of 40.8% at 5.0   A   g −1 and a higher cycling stability of 85.3% after 1200 cycles than the pure MnO 2 , highlighting the advantages of such unique configuration accompanied by the synergistic effect. It is believed that these intriguing results will provide an alternative way for the construction of metal oxide-based composite nanostructures with improved electrochemical performance.