Engineering the composition of Sn1−xMnxS solid solution nanoparticles for sustainable energy storage

Abstract

Driven by the growing need for cost-effective and efficient energy storage devices, numerous efforts have been devoted to the sustainable design and development of electrode materials. To meet this demand, we propose tin sulfide–manganese sulfide solid solution nanoparticle-based electrodes as a viable solution, operating in conjunction with a cytocompatible phosphate-buffered saline solution as the electrolyte. In this study, the Sn_1−xMn_xS solid solution nanoparticles of three different compositions were synthesized using a wet chemical route. After investigating the structural, microstructural, and dielectric properties, the electrochemical performance of the electrode as a function of manganese concentration was evaluated to determine the optimal composition of the solid solution for electrochemical energy storage. Our results highlight the significant potential of tin sulfide–manganese sulfide solid solution nanoparticles at a 20 at% manganese concentration as the optimal composition, which can achieve a specific capacitance of 47.6 mF cm⁻² at a current density of 0.05 mA cm⁻² and show excellent capacitance retention over 2000 cycles with no observable performance degradation.