Synthesis of free-standing metal sulfide nanoarrays via anion exchange reaction and their electrochemical energy storage application

Xinhui Xia, Changrong Zhu, Jingshan Luo, Zhiyuan Zeng, Cao Guan, Chin Fan Ng, Hua Zhang, Hong Jin Fan*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

420 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Metal sulfides are an emerging class of high-performance electrode materials for solar cells and electrochemical energy storage devices. Here, a facile and powerful method based on anion exchange reactions is reported to achieve metal sulfide nanoarrays through a topotactical transformation from their metal oxide and hydroxide pre-forms. Demonstrations are made to CoS and NiS nanowires, nanowalls, and core-branch nanotrees on carbon cloth and nickel foam substrates. The sulfide nanoarrays exhibit superior redox reactivity for electrochemical energy storage. The self-supported CoS nanowire arrays are tested as the pseudo-capacitor cathode, which demonstrate enhanced high-rate specific capacities and better cycle life as compared to the powder counterparts. The outstanding electrochemical properties of the sulfide nanoarrays are a consequence of the preservation of the nanoarray architecture and rigid connection with the current collector after the anion exchange reactions. Arrays of various metal sulfide nanostructures are obtained via a shape-reserved transformation directly from their oxide or hydroxide pre-forms induced by a versatile anion exchange reaction method. The obtained metal sulfide nanostructures demonstrate much improved pseudocapacitor performance compared to sulfides in other forms.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)766-773
Number of pages8
JournalSmall
Volume10
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Feb 26 2014
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

  • Biotechnology
  • Biomaterials
  • General Chemistry
  • General Materials Science

Keywords

  • electrochemical energy storage
  • ion exchange
  • metal sulfides
  • nanowire arrays
  • pseudocapacitors

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