Flower-like CuS Research Articles

Development of CuS/C composite for microwave absorption using lignin biopolymer

In recent decades, electronic devices have become a crucial component of everyday life and an increasingly important aspect of national security. However, despite their convenience, the emission of electromagnetic (EM) radiation from these devices has created a pollution issue that demands urgent attention. In this study, the properties and performance of CuS/C composites as EM wave-absorbing materials were examined. The main technique employed involved modifying the surface structure and properties of a lignin biopolymer via a fiber laser to derive porous carbon as a microwave absorber in the X-band range. Flower-like CuS microspheres were integrated into the porous carbon to improve the electrical conductivity and promote internal reflections. In addition, multilayer microwave absorbers were developed using CuS/C/epoxy composites with varying weight percentages, which were fabricated through refluxing and annealing techniques. The return losses of the absorbers in single- and multi-layer modes were optimized by modified local particle swarm optimization (MLPSO). The minimum average return loss improved to −15 dB (96.8%) by optimization in the 4-layer mode with a thickness of 1.8 mm. The optimum absorption peak in the 3-layer structure was −54.52 dB at a frequency of 8.83 GHz. The shielding effectiveness assessments indicated that the CuS/C/epoxy composite significantly improved the shielding capabilities of porous C and CuS, resulting in an increase of the shielding effectiveness threshold (SET) from less than 2 dB in lignin to more than 10 dB in CuS/C/epoxy.

Preparation of flower-like molecularly imprinted polymers based on metal coordination for selective extraction of hemoglobin

In this study, we present a facile strategy to prepare flower-like molecularly imprinted polymer (CuS/MIPs) for highly specific separation of hemoglobin (Hb) under neutral conditions. Cu2+ were first grafted on the surface of polydopamine-modified flower-like hollow CuS. Then, template proteins were immobilized on the Cu2+-modified CuS through coordination interaction. Subsequently, an imprinted layer was formed using acrylamide (AM) and 4-styrene sulfonic acid sodium salt (SSS) as functional monomers. After the template removal process, the cavities that can specific bind Hb were obtained. The effects of metal ions, functional monomers, pH on the adsorption capacity of the CuS/MIPs were investigated. Benefiting from the combination of multiple binding and imprinting effects, the CuS/MIPs not only exhibited large adsorption capacity (182.74 mg/g) and fast adsorption kinetics (60 min) toward template protein, but also showed satisfactory reusability and selectivity. Meanwhile, the CuS/MIPs could selectively capture Hb from bovine serum sample, demonstrating that the CuS/MIPs will be an auspicious candidate for protein separation.

Facile construction on flower-like CuS microspheres and their applications for the high-performance aqueous ammonium-ion batteries

The aqueous ammonium-ion batteries (AAIBs) exhibit significant significance because of their high energy, cost-effectiveness, environmental friendliness, and high safety. Nonetheless, electrode materials with good cycle stability as well as great capacity have a crucial role in developing aqueous ammonium ion batteries. Herein, flower-like CuS microspheres were successfully utilized in AAIBs. The experimental results demonstrated that the as-synthetized copper sulfides revealed high conductivity and flower-like microspheres, and its initial discharge capacity was as high as 710 mAh g−1 at the 0.1 A g−1 current density. Moreover, the cycle stability of batteries were greatly improved by optimizing the electrolyte composition. These results represent a novel design strategy for the AAIBs.

Broadband electromagnetic wave absorption performance of CuS-biomass carbon composites derived from moss

The absorption performance of broadband electromagnetic waves is of utmost importance in safeguarding diverse electronic equipment against electromagnetic wave pollution, necessitating materials with low density, thin thickness, and cost-effectiveness to be employed. This study presents the successful synthesis of biomass-derived carbon (BC) composites via the hydrothermal method, utilizing moss coated with flower-like CuS. The CuS was uniformly dispersed on BC matrix, contribute to dipole polarization relaxation. The formation of heterogeneous interfaces between CuS and the BC phase resulted in significant polarization loss. Additionally, the wrinkled BC and flower like CuS constructed by nanosheets boosted scattering of electromagnetic wave due to its large specific surface area, which can provide additional channels for charge transfer and avail dissipation of electromagnetic wave energy. With an efficient absorption bandwidth (EAB) that encompasses the whole X band, the electromagnetic waves absorption (EMA) performance of CuS/BC composites was able to reach a minimum reflection loss of − 28.8 dB.

Mild synthesis of flower-like CuS modified MXene nanocomposites for high-performance supercapacitors and efficient microwave absorption

Benefiting from rich surface functional groups, two-dimensional transition metal carbides (MXene) exhibit excellent metallic conductivity, hydrophilicity and film-forming properties and are widely used in energy storage and microwave absorption. However, the agglomerate and stacking of MXene nanosheets during preparation are largely detrimental to the full realization of their merits at two-dimensional scale. Therefore, we developed an ultrasonic assisted and vacuum filtration method to obtain MXene/CuS thin film electrode material with a "sandwich" structure without destroying its inherent properties, which still maintains a good lamellar structure and exhibits excellent tensile properties. Due to the synergistic effect of MXene and CuS and their redox reaction, the MXene/CuS thin film electrode exhibits a specific capacitance of 491 F g−1 at a current density of 1 A g−1. It can be used directly as positive and negative electrodes to assemble a flexible supercapacitor with a capacitance retention of 89 % at current density of 2 A g−1 after 5000 cycles. In addition, the composite can achieve an effective absorption band width of 3.3 GHz (14.7–18 GHZ) at a thickness of 1 mm. The study shows that layer spacing modulation offers the possibility of large-scale applications of MXene in the field of flexible supercapacitors and microwave absorption, and provides new ideas for the development of multi-purpose materials to meet the needs of different applications.

Photothermal self-lubricating anti-icing coating based on flower-like CuS and PDMS

This paper reports a novel photothermal self-lubricating (PT-SL) anti-icing coating contributing to the structural design of photothermal material and the utilization enhancement of photothermal function. The PT-SL coating was created by the hydrolysis-condensation reaction of tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) and γ-methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (MPTMS) on the surface of pre-prepared flower-like CuS particle, followed by crosslinking yielded flower-like CuS@(SiO2-MPTMS) particle with silicone elastomer (Sylgard 184) in the presence of linear poly(dimethyl siloxane) (l-PDMS). The CuS@(SiO2-MPTMS) particle evidenced as black body in the wavelength range 250–2500 nm endowed the PT-SL coating with high photothermal conversion efficiency at a low content due to its flower-like structure with numerous sharp nanoflakes and small pores. The high temperature via photothermal effect could promote the surface migration of liquid-like hydrophobic l-PDMS, bestowing a self-lubricated dewetting property on PT-SL coating. Consequently, the PT-SL coating with a CuS@(SiO2-MPTMS) content of 5 wt% under sunlight was capable of melting and cleaning ice and frost even at a freezing temperature of −25 °C. Under sunlight-free condition, the PT-SL coating also performed low ice adhesion strength ranging from 14.98 to 9.33 kPa and good durability due to the synergism of crosslinked structure, the uniform distribution of CuS@(SiO2-MPTMS) and the surface coverage of liquid-like l-PDMS.

Nanostructured copper sulphide films deposited from a precursor bath prepared using RO water

Synthesis of functional nanostructured materials using solution-based low-cost deposition routes is an emerging research area. In this paper, we report deposition of one such material, Copper Sulphide nanostructures (CuS NS), using low-cost chemical bath deposition technique. The films have been deposited on bare glass substrate from a precursor (PS) bath prepared using reverse osmosis (RO) processed water (Drinking water). The deposition of the films has been carried out at three different temperatures, 60°, 65° and 70 °C. X-ray diffraction study confirmed the CuS NS film possess pure hexagonal covellite phase. Scanning Electron Microscopy of the films revealed the flower-like shape CuS NS are made up of hexagonal plates of side lengths ∼38 nm and thickness ∼4.76 nm. The average size of the agglomerated grains was calculated 65 nm to 665 nm (60 °C), 94 nm to 670 nm (65 °C) and 94 nm to 670 nm (70 °C) using ImageJ software. The optical study showed the films possess indirect and direct optical energy bandgap (Eg) in the range ∼1.3–1.6 eV and ∼2.4–2.7 eV, respectively.

Self-assembled CuS porous grade sub-nanoflowers as efficient nano-adsorbents for adsorption/self-deposition characteristics research

In recent decades, growing population and industrial development have led to releasing huge amounts of highly toxic chemical pollutants into the environment globally. Several approaches to handling the removal of contaminants from wastewater for environmental remediation, including biological, chemical, physical, and advanced oxidation processes have been employed. Among them, using nano-adsorbents as a tool for effectively removing organic contaminants represents a promising strategy in sewage purification field. More importantly, the nano-adsorbents with auto-deposition property can greatly improve the efficiency of sewage treatment. Therefore, the developing of environment friendly nano-adsorbents is thus an important issue to remove organic contaminants in water via simply adsorbing. Here in this work, porous flower-like copper sulfide (CuS) grade sub-nanomaterials are successfully fabricated by simply mixing two inorganic salts. Furthermore, the as-prepared nano-adsorbents with auto-deposition property can create a super adsorption capability for organic contaminants in wastewater. We further study the adsorption/auto-deposition characteristics of porous flower-like CuS grade sub-nanomaterials systematically by using various organic dyes (methyl blue, crystal violet, lemon yellow, sunset yellow and amaranth) as target molecules. For instance, in a typical procedure, 0.8-mg methyl blue can be removed 100% via adding 10-mg porous flower-like CuS grade sub-nanomaterials sample in 30 min. Therefore, the adsorption efficiency can be enhanced by 55% and 26% in comparison with the adsorption efficiency of CuS micro pompons and micron particles, respectively. Additionally, the porous flower-like CuS grade sub-nanomaterials can self-deposite on the bottom of the solution within 3 h after adsorption has finished, and the deposition efficiency can be improved by 95% and 3.17 times in comparison with the deposition efficiency of CuS micro pompons and micron particles, respectively. Comparing with micron particles, the unique self-depositing characteristics of porous flower-like grade sub-nanomaterials are attributed to larger specific surface area, greater porosity and stronger electrostatic adsorption capacity. Remarkably, this work provides an effective method of effectively removing various organic dyes from wastewater.

Coupling SnS2 and rGO aerogel to CuS for enhanced light-assisted OER electrocatalysis.

In order to harvest more light wavelengths to improve the light-assisted electrochemical water splitting capacity, we developed a novel heterostructure of three-dimensional (3D) flower-like CuS architecture with accompanying SnS2 nanoparticles and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) aerogel for outstanding light-assisted electrocatalytic OER performance and good stability. The excellent catalytic kinetics, effective capturing of visible light, and rapid charge transfer of the CuS/SnS2/rGO (CSr) heterostructure were demonstrated. The overpotential (264 mV@10 mA cm-2) under light-assisted conditions is 20% lower than that under light-chopped conditions. SnS2 can harvest more light wavelengths and this boosts its intrinsic activity. However, with the increase of the SnS2 content, the OER activity decreases. The combination of the CS heterostructure and the rGO conductive aerogel achieves rapid charge transfer. Furthermore, the possible mechanism of the light-assisted electrocatalytic OER was also proposed. Overall, this work provides new insights into the simple and scalable fabrication of a highly efficient, low-cost, and stable non-noble-metal-based electrocatalyst.

Preparation of 3D flower-like Bi/CuS composite and properties of degrading dye wastewater

At present, the combination of plasmonic metals and semiconductor materials is an effective method to improve the photocatalytic activity. In this paper, Bi was successfully compounded on the surface of 3D flower-like CuS by a simple two-step hydrothermal method. The samples were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, BET, XPS, EIS and M-S. The photocatalytic performance of Bi/CuS composites was evaluated by photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) and methyl orange (MO) under light illumination. The experimental results indicated that the combination of Bi nanoparticles improved the photocatalytic activity to MB and MO of the composites, which were 45.81% and 55.63% than that of pure CuS. In addition, the reaction mechanism in the photocatalytic degradation process was clarified, and the photocatalytic activity enhancement was attributed to the effective separation of photogenerated carriers and the reduction of recombination of photogenerated electron-hole pairs.

Ethanol Monitoring Gas Sensor Based on Flower-Shaped Copper Sulfide by a Facile Hydrothermal Method for Marine Transportation

Flower-shaped CuS as a p-type gas-sensing material was synthesized by a facile hydrothermal method in this study. Morphology, structure, and chemical composition of the synthesized CuS gas-sensing material were analyzed by SEM, XRD, XPS, and N2 adsorption adsorption–desorption technique. Gas-sensing properties of the as-prepared CuS sensors were also investigated toward ethanol monitoring. The results showed that the flower-like CuS nanostructures consisted of interconnected nanosheets and exhibited good crystallinity. With the increase in ethanol concentration, the sensitivity of the CuS sensor significantly increased and indicated a roughly linear relationship at the optimal operating temperature of 260 °C. The ethanol-selective characteristics of the CuS sensor against other interfering gases including methanol, benzene, dichloromethane, and hexane were studied, and the gas response of the CuS sensor synthesized at 170 °C toward 100 ppm ethanol was 5.22, which was significantly higher than all the other gases. Moreover, 14-day continuous measurement further confirmed the excellent stability of the CuS sensor.

A facile method for crystallizing flower-like CuS on the surface of PBO fiber

Abstract This study provided a manageable method to induce 3D flower-like CuS to crystallize on the surface of Poly(p-phenylenebenzobisoxazole) fiber (PBO fiber) by loading transition metal Pd by hydrothermal method. Pd as the induction center was attached to the surface of the acidified PBO fiber by the process of “sensitization” and “activation”. And then during hydrothermal synthesis, under the condition of transition metal Pd, CuS seeds are formed on the surface of PBO fiber, and these seeds proceed to grow. Finally, the flower-like CuS was successfully grown on the surface of PBO fiber. Scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffraction analysis, Energy dispersive spectrometer were used to confirm the growth process of CUS on the surface of PBO fiber.

In-situ growth of flower-like CuS microsphere on carbonized cotton for high-performance flexible supercapacitor

In this work, a composite electrode of flower-like copper sulphide (CuS) and carbonized cloth is prepared by one-step surfactant-free hydrothermal method simply. The reaction time has a great influence on the secondary structure of CuS, and the CuS nanosheet grown in situ on the carbonized cloth with lamellar structure possesses good dispersibility when the reaction time is 4h, which could provide more active sites to facilitate electrochemical reaction. Besides, due to the synergistic effect of pseudo capacitance of CuS and double layer capacitance of carbonized cloth, the CuS/carbonized cotton (CSCC-4) shows not only great specific capacitance (4176 mF cm−2 at current density of 2 mA cm−2) but also outstanding cycle stability (15.1% loss of initial capacitance over 5000 cycles). Moreover, it is worth noted that the symmetrical flexible SC based on CSCC-4 electrodes accomplishes a great energy density, which reaches to 0.74 Wh cm−2 at power density of 4.35 W cm−2 and maintains 0.26 Wh cm-2 at power density of 21.9 W cm-2.

Photothermal-conversion-enhanced photocatalytic activity of flower-like CuS superparticles under solar light irradiation

Photocatalytic semiconductors have attracted much attention due to their effective harvesting of solar energy for chemical synthesis and wastewater treatment. In particular, 3D hierarchical CuS materials exhibit unique photocatalytic performance due to their distinctive optical properties and high specific surface areas. In the present work, a facile and template-free solvothermal method was applied to the synthesis of monodispersed and homogeneous 3D flower-like CuS superparticles. The prepared superparticles exhibit good photocatalytic properties for degrading organic pollutants (methylene blue) in water. Furthermore, the effect of photothermal conversion in enhancing the photocatalytic activity of this flower-like material was studied; this effect has not been considered in most of the previous work. The photodegradation rate was enhanced by ∼212.7% in the photothermal-assisted system. This result reveals that photothermal conversion in CuS particles plays an important role in engendering highly efficient photocatalytic activity and the efficient utilization of solar energy.

Green approach for in-situ growth of highly-ordered 3D flower-like CuS hollow nanospheres decorated on nitrogen and sulfur co-doped graphene bionanocomposite with enhanced peroxidase-like catalytic activity performance for colorimetric biosensing of glucose

We describe a green and facile hydrothermal route to synthesize highly ordered 3D flower-like hierarchical CuS hollow nanospheres@N-S-rGO bionanocomposite used to detect glucose. After synthesis and comprehensive characterization of all potential catalysts, the peroxidase-like activity of 3D CuS NSs@N-S-rGO is compared extensively with pure 3D CuS NSs, N-S-rGO, N-rGO, and GO to monitor the effect of each modification and treatment on their catalytic properties. The results indicate promising peroxidase activity of 3D CuS NSs@N-S-rGO by possessing the highest catalytic activity and the Michaelis constant of ~93.5 times lower and 9.7 times higher than that of reported for HRP, respectively. The bionanocomposite is used to detect glucose in serum with and without light. The results show a remarkable enhancement in the limit of detection for glucose from 0.3 μM to 0.075 μM (40 folds) with visible light that can be attributed to the fast electron transfer on the surface of 3D CuS NSs@N-S-rGO and the synergistic interaction of 3D CuS NSs and N-S-rGO. The method was further applied to the colorimetric detection of glucose in human serum and showed high selectivity. Our result also show that this method based on 3D CuS NSs@N-S-rGO is economical, reliable, feasible, and highly efficient.

Durable Superhydrophobic Cotton Textiles with Ultraviolet-blocking Property and Photocatalysis Based on Flower-Like Copper Sulfide

Durable superhydrophobic cotton textiles with ultraviolet-blocking property and photocatalytic activity were prepared by coating polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)/copper sulfide (CuS) based on the copper sulfide with hierarchical mesoporous microstructure like flower, which was composed of self-assembled nanosheets. The treated textile showed the exceptional superhydrophobic surface whose water contact angle and shedding angle was 157.7 ± 0.9° and 7.2 ± 0.2°, respectively, due to the simultaneous introduction of hierarchical porous surface topography constructed by flower-like CuS and low surface tension PDMS layer on cotton fabric. The obtained superhydrophobic cotton fabric was also proved to possess high ultraviolet-blocking performance with a large ultraviolet protection factor (UPF) of 511.09 and good photocatalytic activity. The prepared superhydrophobic fabrics showed excellent ultraviolet-durability and laundering durability attributed to stable and firm PDMS adhesive layer. This simple approach can show great potential for wide application and prospect.

One-pot, self-assembled hydrothermal synthesis of 3D flower-like CuS/g-C3N4 composite with enhanced photocatalytic activity under visible-light irradiation

Novel visible-light-driven 3D flower-like CuS/g-C3N4 composites have been synthesized by different wt% of CuS using hydrothermal method and characterized by standard analytical techniques such as XRD, FTIR, XPS, BET, UV–Vis DRS spectroscopy, SEM–EDS, and TEM. SEM and TEM analyses showed an intimate interfacial contact between flower-like CuS and g-C3N4 sheet. The synthesized composite materials (CuS/g-C3N4) showed excellent photocatalytic activity for the decolorization of methylene blue (MB) in aqueous suspension under visible-light irradiation, compared with pure CuS and g-C3N4. Among various composites of CuS/g-C3N4, 10 wt% of CuS showed highest photocatalytic activity for the decolorization of dye (MB). This remarkably improved photocatalytic performance of the synthesized materials could be attributed to the synergistic interaction between CuS and g-C3N4, leading to prolonged lifetime of photo-generated e– and h+ pair through the Z-scheme system. A probable Z-scheme mechanism explaining the origin of enhanced performance of the composite material has been proposed. This work not only provides a facile way to synthesize 3D flower-like heterostructure, but also renders rational design for the development of highly efficient Z-scheme photocatalytic systems.

Controllable synthesis of copper sulfide for nonenzymatic hydrazine sensing

Constructing a novel enzyme-free electrode for sensitive and selective detection of hydrazine (N2H4) in neutral medium is important. In this paper, Copper sulfide (CuS) with different morphologies were synthesized for electrochemical sensing of N2H4. A facile hydrothermal approach is developed for the shape-controlled synthesis of CuS architectures. The effects of reaction temperature, time, solvent and anion type on the morphologies of CuS were studied and it was found that CuS with flower-like, nanoparticle-like, rod-like and multilayered-like morphologies could be selectively prepared by just changing the type of metal precursor. The electrochemical performances of various CuS structures were investigated, which showed that flower-like CuS exhibited higher electrocatalytic activity toward N2H4 oxidation and could offer superior analytical performances with a wide linear range of 0.5 μM to 4.775 mM, a high sensitivity of 359.3 μA mM−1 cm−2 and a low detection limit of 0.097 μM (S/N = 3). Moreover, the application of the sensor for detecting N2H4 in tap water samples was demonstrated and the good recovery obtained made it a great potential for practical use.

Synthesis of Flower-Like CuS for Photodegradation of Dye Wastewater

Synthesis of Flower-Like CuS for Photodegradation of Dye Wastewater

Polyaniline/flower-like CuS composites with improved electromagnetic interference shielding effectiveness

The novel polyaniline (PANI)/flower-like CuS composites with improved electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding effectiveness (SE) were prepared through in situ polymerization of PANI into the flower-like CuS microspheres. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, UV–vis optical absorption spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, electrical conductivity, and EMI SE were used to characterize the as-obtained products. The results revealed that flower-like CuS was uniformly coated by the PANI shell. Most importantly, compared with original CuS and pure PANI, the novel PANI/flower-like CuS composites exhibited remarkably enhanced shielding effectiveness. With a thickness of 3 mm, the optimal EMI SE of PANI/CuS composites reached −45.2 dB at 2.78 GHz and the improved shielding efficiency below −18 dB was also obtained over the frequency range of 300 kHz–3 GHz, suggesting that these novel PANI/flower-like CuS composites showed a promising application in the field of shielding materials.