Arrays of ultrafine CuS nanoneedles supported on a CNT backbone for application in supercapacitors

• Main Authors: Zhu, Ting, Xia, Bao Yu, Zhou, Liang, Lou, David Xiong Wen
• Other Authors: School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2013
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/96700; http://hdl.handle.net/10220/11570
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Arrays of CuS ultrafine nanoneedles supported on a carbon nanotube (CNT) backbone (CNT@CuS) are fabricated by an efficient template-engaged chemical conversion route. First, the silica coated CNTs (CNT@SiO2) are introduced as the substrate for the growth of copper silicate (CuSilicate) nanoneedles to form CNT@SiO2@CuSilicate core–shell one-dimensional (1D) structures. In the second step, the CuSilicate nanoneedles are completely transformed into CuS nanoneedles via a hydrothermal treatment with Na2S. Simultaneously the intermediate silica layer is removed during the hydrothermal process, thus resulting in hierarchical CNT@CuS complex nanostructures. In virtue of the unique architecture and intrinsic properties, the as-prepared CNT@CuS hierarchical structures exhibit high capacitance and excellent cycling stability.