Research Article
Nanostructured Multilayer Composite Films of
Manganese Dioxide/Nickel/Copper Sulfide Deposited on
Polyethylene Terephthalate Supporting Substrate
Awangku Nabil Syafiq Bin Awangku Metosen, Suh Cem Pang, and Suk Fun Chin
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Resource Science and Technology, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, 94300 Kota Samarahan,
Sarawak, Malaysia
Correspondence should be addressed to Suh Cem Pang; suhcem@gmail.com
Received 23 January 2015; Accepted 29 March 2015
Academic Editor: Gaurav Mago
Copyright © 2015 Awangku Nabil Syafq Bin Awangku Metosen et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative
Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the
original work is properly cited.
Nanostructured multilayer manganese dioxide/nickel/copper sulfde (MnO
2
/Ni/CuS) composite flms were successfully deposited
onto supporting polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate through the sequential deposition of CuS, Ni, and MnO
2
thin flms
by chemical bath deposition, electrodeposition, and horizontal submersion deposition techniques, respectively. Deposition of each
thin-flm layer was optimized by varying deposition parameters and conditions associated with specifc deposition technique. Both
CuS and Ni thin flms were optimized for their electrical conductivity whereas MnO
2
thin flm was optimized for its microstructure
and charge capacity. Te electrochemical properties of nanostructured multilayer MnO
2
/Ni/CuS composite flms were evaluated by
cyclic voltammetry as electrode materials of an electrochemical capacitor prototype in a dual-planar device confguration. Cyclic
voltammogram in mild Na
2
SO
4
aqueous electrolyte exhibited a featureless and almost rectangular shape which was indicative of
the ideal capacitive behavior and high cycling reversibility of the electrochemical capacitor prototype. Nanostructured multilayer
MnO
2
/Ni/CuS composite flms on supporting polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate could potentially be utilized as electrode
materials for the fabrication of high performance electrochemical capacitors.
1. Introduction
Generally, the fabrication of thin-flm electrochemical capac-
itor entails the deposition of an electroactive thin flm onto
an electrically conductive supporting substrate which serves
collectively as both the current collector and the supporting
substrate. A gel electrolyte layer which serves as the ion-
ically conductive medium is subsequently added between
the electrodes of electrochemical capacitor. Nanostructured
manganese dioxide thin flms have been comprehensively
studied in recent years in order to determine the relations
among their morphological, structural, and compositional
characteristics for enhancing performance of electrochem-
ical capacitors [1]. Methods commonly used for deposit-
ing nanostructured manganese dioxide thin flms include
anodic oxidation, electrodeposition, electroless deposition,
successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR),
chemical bath deposition, electron beam evaporation, chem-
ical vapor deposition, reactive sputtering, molecular beam
epitaxy, pulsed layer deposition, and atomic layer deposition
[2]. However, chemical deposition methods which involve
growth from solution are more favorable as they are cost-
efective, and thin flms of complex chemical compositions
can be formed at low deposition temperature. Such low depo-
sition temperature is highly desirable in order to avoid efects
such as interdifusion, contamination, and dopant redistri-
bution. Besides, the morphology of thin flms deposited can
be easily controlled via optimizing preparative parameters.
Unlike physical deposition methods, chemical deposition
methods do not require high quality target or substrates nor
do they require vacuum at any stage of deposition process
[3]. Te self-assembly horizontal submersion process and the
electrophoretic deposition method have been demonstrated
to be versatile and cost-efective deposition techniques for the
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Journal of Nanomaterials
Volume 2015, Article ID 270635, 11 pages
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/270635