Hierarchical, porous CuS microspheres integrated with carbon nanotubes for high-performance supercapacitors

Abstract

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) incorporated porous 3-dimensional (3D) CuS microspheres have been successfully synthesized via a simple refluxing method assisted by PVP. The composites are composed of flower-shaped CuS secondary microspheres, which in turn are assembled with primary nanosheets of 15-30nm in thickness and fully integrated with CNT. The composites possess a large specific surface area of 189.6m2 g-1 and a high conductivity of 0.471S cm-1. As electrode materials for supercapacitors, the nanocomposites show excellent cyclability and rate capability and deliver an average reversible capacitance as high as 1960F g-1 at a current density of 10mA cm-2 over 10000 cycles. The high electrochemical performance can be attributed to the synergistic effect of CNTs and the unique microstructure of CuS. The CNTs serve as not only a conductive agent to accelerate the transfer of electrons in the composites, but also as a buffer matrix to restrain the volume change and stabilize the electrode structure during the charge/discharge process. The porous structure of CuS also helps to stabilize the electrode structure and facilitates the transport for electrons.