Exploring the potential of a ZnS/CNFs cloudy-like architecture for high-performance asymmetric supercapacitors.

This research presents a novel fabrication approach to develop a ZnS–Carbon nanofiber (CNFs) cloudy-like composite material for application in electrochemical energy storage devices. A co-precipitation technique, combined with wet-chemical-assisted synthesis, was used to synthesize the composite material. The ZnS–CNFs cloudy-like architecture exhibited excellent capacitance value, of 500 F/g in a potential window between 0.0 to 0.6 V, outperforming the individual ZnS and CNFs electrodes. Additionally, the study showed that the ZnS–CNFs cloudy-like architecture possessed coherent pathways, facilitating efficient charge transport and ion mobilization, which led to superior energy storage performance. An asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) was also assembled using the synthesized ZnS–CNFs composite as an active electrode with activated carbon as an anode to construct a full cell assembly in KOH electrolyte. The ASC device demonstrated an impressively high power density of 7680 W/kg at 6.4 Wh/kg and maximum specific energy of 26.7 Wh/kg with a good stability of 81.4% at a current density of 10 A/g. The results indicate significant potential for utilizing the ZnS–CNFs cloudy-like architecture as a formidable electrode material in advanced ASC devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]