Nail-like Cu2S nanoarrays with a partial interconnected structure synthesized on Cu foam for high-performance asymmetric supercapacitors

Transition metal sulfides have been extensively applied to the electrode materials of supercapacitors for its intrinsic high capacitance, low electronegativity, low cost, and outstanding conductivity. However, the common vulcanization processes for preparing electrode materials of transition metal sulfides are generally time-consuming (nearly 10–24 h) and inseparable from high-temperature heat treatment (nearly 200–400 °C). In this paper, we introduce a rapid room temperature process with direct sulfuration (4 h) of precursors without additional preheating treatment steps to prepare the nail-like Cu2S nanoarrays with a partial interconnected structure on copper foam (Cu2S/Cu). As the electrode of supercapacitors, the Cu2S/Cu reveals good capacitance performance (1219 F g−1 at 5 mA cm−2) and outstanding cycling stability (92% retained after 5000 cycles at 30 mA cm−2). These superior electrochemical performances may be mainly due to the fact that the nail-like Cu2S nanoarrays with a partial interconnected structure will provide efficient transport pathways for both electrons and ions along the longitudinal axis of the one-dimensional nanostructure.