Electrophoretic deposition of manganese dioxide films using new dispersing agents

Electrophoretic deposition (EPD) method has been developed for the fabrication of manganese dioxide (MD) films for application in electrochemical supercapacitors (ES). Anionic dyes were used as dispersing agents for MD synthesis and EPD. The adsorption of pyrogallol red (PGR) and aurintricarboxylic acid (ACA) dyes on MD was attributed to catecholate and salicylate type of bonding respectively involving chelation of Mn atoms on the MD particle surface. The adsorption of the dyes on MD allowed efficient dispersion, charging and deposition. The higher charge/mass ratio of ACA, compared to that of PGR, allowed deposition at lower dye concentration and lower voltages. The kinetics and mechanism of deposition were discussed. Electrochemical testing results showed that the MD films prepared by the EPD method are promising for application in ES. The highest specific capacitance of 409 F g−1 was obtained at a scan rate of 2 mV s−1.