Acetylene black incorporated layered copper sulfide nanosheets for high-performance supercapacitor

Two-dimensional transition metal chalcogenides are attracting increasing attention in energy storage due to their unique structures and electronic properties. CuS has been demonstrated with a metal-like electronic conductivity and a high theoretical capacity. In this work, a facile strategy was reported for one-step synthesis of acetylene black (AB) incorporated layered CuS nanosheet via a simple solvothermal route. X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy were used to investigate the morphologies and microstructures of the as-prepared materials. Electrochemical data showed that the CuS/AB composites displayed a high specific capacitance of 2981 F/g at 1.0 A/g and retained 64.6% (1924.5 F/g) at a high current density of 20 A/g, indicative of good rate capability. Furthermore, the composites retained approximately 92% of the initial specific capacitance after 600 cycles at a current density of 1.0 A/g, demonstrating good cycling stability. The outstanding electrochemical properties of the CuS/AB composite suggested that it had great potential for practical applications in high-performance supercapacitors and the present synthesis strategy maybe readily extended to the preparation of other composites based on CuS for potential applications in energy storage and conversion devices.