Facile hydrothermal synthesis of zinc cobalt sulfide nanosheets with enhanced electrochemical performance as supercapacitor electrode materials

Abstract

Ternary transition metal sulfides are propitious electrode materials caused by low electronegativity, high conductivity and higher electrochemical activity in comparison to transition metal oxides and single metal sulfides. In this work, Zinc Cobalt Sulfide (ZCS)nanosheets have been successfully prepared through a simple, cost-effective hydrothermal method and characterized by X- Ray Diffraction (XRD), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FE-SEM) with Energy Dispersive X- Ray Analysis (EDX), Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM), and X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). The supercapacitor performance of ZCS nanomaterial electrodes was done by electrochemical measurements and ZCS nanosheets revealed a clear enhancement in specific capacity and cycling stability. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy showed a much lower charge transfer resistance of the samples. These results proved that the ZCS nanosheets may be utilized as capable electrode materials for next generation energy storage devices.