Effect of Non-ionic Surfactants and Its Role in K Intercalation in Electrolytic Manganese Dioxide

Abstract

The effect of non-ionic surface active agents (surfactants) Triton X-100 (TX-100) and and their role in potassium intercalation in electrolytic manganese dioxide (EMD) produced from manganese cake has been investigated. Electrosynthesis of MnO 2 in the absence or presence of surfactant was carried out from acidic MnSO 4 solution obtained from manganese cake under optimized conditions. A range of characterization techniques, including field emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Rutherford back scattering (RBS), and BET surface area/porosity studies, was carried out to determine the structural and chemical characteristics of the EMD. Galvanostatic (discharge) and potentiostatic (cyclic voltammetric) studies were employed to evaluate the suitability of EMD in combination with KOH electrolyte for alkaline battery applications. The presence of surfactant played an important role in modifying the physicochemical properties of the EMD by increasing the surface area of the material and hence, enhancing its electrochemical performance. The TEM and RBS analyses of the discharged EMD (c-MnO 2 ) material showed clear evidence of potassium intercalation or at least the formation of a film on the MnO 2 surface. The extent of intercalation was greater for EMD deposited in the presence of TX-100. Discharged MnO 2 showed products of Mn 2+ intermediates such as MnOOH and Mn 3 O 4 .

Electrolytic manganese dioxide (EMD): a perspective on worldwide production, reserves and its role in electrochemistry

“…[36][37][38][66][67][68] The process ow sheet for production of EMD from the above discussed secondary ores was shown in Fig. removal of residual Mn(II) from ammoniacal leach liquor by oxidizing under oxygen over pressure.…”

“…[36][37][38][66][67][68]76,[91][92][93][94][95][96][97][98][99][100][101][102] Apart from sulphate bath, EMD can also be produced from chloride bath. Usually EMD is prepared from manganese sulfate-sulphuric acid bath.…”

“…37 Anionic surfactants (sodium octyl sulphate, sodium dodecyl sulphate and sodium tetra decyl sulphate) strongly inuenced EMD crystal morphology. It was observed that EMD deposited from a bath containing cationic surfactants such as quaternary ammonium salts tetra ethyl ammonium bromide (TEAB), tetra propyl ammonium bromide (TPAB), tetra butyl ammonium bromide (TBAB) were found to be suitable in increasing the current efficiency (CE) and decreasing the energy consumption (EC) of the EMD deposition process.…”

Electrodeposition of Pluronic F127 assisted rod-like EMD/carbon arrays for efficient energy storage

“…Electrolytic manganese dioxide (EMD) is preferred over natural and chemical manganese dioxides obtained from other sources due to its purity and better chemical reactivity [9][10]. On the other hand, surfactant as an additive also plays an important role in enhancing the rechargeability of EMD by modifying the structure to a larger extent [20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28]. It is interesting to note that Li-ion batteries, containing manganese derived from high purity EMD, are now in high demand for power vehicles, thus escalating the demand for EMD further [11].…”

“…EMD is one of the widely used cathode materials for alkaline batteries, lithium manganese primary batteries. The reported surfactants in the literature [20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28] are quite well known to this field and are pertained to cationic or anionic. EMD exhibits the greatest battery activity for most applications as quoted earlier.…”