Synergistic effect of Echinops flower-like Copper sulfide@Cadmium sulfide heterostructure for high-performance all-solid-state asymmetric supercapacitor

Abstract

The fascinating properties of transition metal chalcogenides, including their distinctive morphologies, large surface areas, crystal structures, tunnel bandgaps, and structural stability, have led to a widespread acceptance of these compounds as ideal electrode materials for energy and environmental applications. Incorporating additional metal chalcogenides into metal chalcogenides to form a heterostructure can further enhance their electrical conductivity and provide them with more active sites. Herein, a simple hydrothermal method is used to synthesize a heterostructure CuS@CdS nanocomposite by integrating Copper sulphide and Cadmium sulphide. X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were used to ascertain the phase formation and structural properties of the synthesized compounds. The electrochemical properties of the obtained materials were investigated. In a three-electrode configuration, a heterostructure CuS@CdS nanocomposite delivers high-specific capacitance (543.6 Fg −1 at 1 Ag −1 ) with excellent rate capability and outstanding cycling stability. A heterostructure CuS@CdS nanocomposite and activated carbon were employed as the negative electrode/positive electrode to construct an all-solid-state asymmetric supercapacitor device for real-world applications. This fabricated device exhibits a high energy density of up to 34.9 Wh.kg −1 and power density of 798.1 W.kg −1 and outstanding cyclic stability and retains up to 95.5 % over 3000 cycles. The outstanding results demonstrate that the CuS/CdS nanocomposite is an appropriate electrode material for a high-performance supercapacitor. • Heterostructure CuS/CdS nanocomposite was prepared by simple hydrothermal method • Heterostructure CuS/CdS nanocomposite reveals unique Echinops flower-like morphology • The CuS/CdS nanocomposite demonstrates excellent specific capacitance of 543.6 F g −1 .