One-pot facile synthesis of nanorice-like structured CuS@WS2 as an advanced electroactive material for high-performance supercapacitors

Abstract

Binder-free nanorice-like featured CuS@WS2 structures have been synthesized using a simple and cost-effective chemical bath deposition approach and their application as electroactive material for high-performance supercapacitors. The surface properties of morphology, structure and composition of the as-prepared electrodes are examined using the scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, respectively. The nanorice-like featured CuS@WS2 electrode exhibits nanorice-like structures, which provides the abundant active sites for redox reactions and facilitates the electrolyte diffusion. The electrochemical performance of the supercapacitor electrodes was examined by cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge–discharge studies. From the electrochemical tests, the CuS@WS2 electrode exhibits a higher specific capacitance (Cs) of 887.15 F g−1 at a current density of 3.75 A g−1 with greater energy density and excellent rate capability compared to bare CuS (588.0 F g−1) and WS2 (19.40 F g−1) electrodes. Overall, these results demonstrate that the as-synthesized CuS@WS2 could be a promising material for next-generation high-performance electrochemical energy storage applications.