SupercapacitorComposites
Facile Synthesis of Holothurian-Like g-MnS/Carbon Nanotube
Nanocomposites for Flexible All-Solid-State Supercapacitors
XiaoyiHou,
[a, b]
TaoPeng,
[a, b]
Qiuhong Yu,
[a, b]
Rongjie Luo,
[a, b]
Xianming Liu,
[c]
Yingge Zhang,
[a, b]
Yange Wang,
[a, b]
YanGuo,
[a, b]
Jang-Kyo Kim,
[d]
and Yongsong Luo*
[a, b]
Abstract: The holothurian-like g-MnS/carbon nanotube
(CNT) nanocomposites are successfully fabricated through
afacile two-step hydrothermalmethod. The g-MnS@CNT
hybrid nanocomposite is an attractive electrode material for
supercapacitors as it exhibits excellent electrochemical per-
formance with ahigh specific capacitance of 641.9 Fg
@1
and
cyclic stability of 94.6 %retention after 3000 cycles at acur-
rent density of 0.5 Ag
@1
,which are superior to those of CNTs
and pure g-MnS nanoparticles. Furthermo re, the as-fabricat-
ed all-solid-state supercapacitor reveals remarkable specific
capacitance of 263.5 Fg
@1
,high capacitance retention, and
ahigh energy density of 36.6 Whkg
@1
at apower density of
0.5 kWkg
@1
.The device maintains its supercapacitorper-
formance well, even under bending or twisting states, indi-
cating the excellent mechanical stabilityand flexibility of the
device. The impressive results demonstrate the great oppor-
tunity for practical application of this metal sulfide-based
composite in high-performance,flexible energy storagedevi-
ces and wearable electronics.
Introduction
Flexibleelectrochemical energy storage devices that can func-
tion under harsh physical deformationhave attracted increas-
ing attention fortheir promising applications in flexible and
portable electronics such as bendable displays, wearablemulti-
media computing,and artificial electronic skin.
[1–5]
Supercapaci-
tors, also knownaselectrochemical capacitors, have recently
been attracting enormousinterest owing to their distinct prop-
erties, such as long cycle life, high powerdensity,high charge–
discharge rate, simplicity,friendly and low maintenance cost
compared with secondary batteries.
[6–12]
According to the
mechanisms of the chargestorage, supercapacitors can be
categorized in two major classes:electrochemical double-layer
capacitors (EDLCs) andpseudocapacitors.
[13,14]
Graphene and
carbon nanotube (CNT) materials with high surf ace areasare
generally used to construct EDLCs, whereas metal oxides/hy-
droxides and conducting polymers come under the pseudoca-
pacitortype. The developm entofelectrode materials is essen-
tial for improving the electrochemical properties of supercapa-
citors. However,the high cost of metal oxides/hydroxides, low
cycle life of conducting polymers,and low energy density of
carbon materials greatly destroytheir actualapplication in su-
percapacitors.
[15–17]
Recently,some metal sulfides such as Ni
3
S
2
,
[18]
CuS,
[19]
Ag
2
S,
[20]
WS
2
,
[21]
and CoS
[22]
have been widely used as electrode
materials in supercapacitors owing to their highelectrical con-
ductivity.MnS is a p-type semiconductor with awide band gap
(E
g
= 3.7 eV), whichhas potentialapplicationsindilute magnet-
ic semiconductors, solar cells, and lithium-ion batteries.
[23,24]
It
is well knownthat MnS has three different polymorphs: a-, b-,
and g-MnS. Among these,green-colored a-MnS is the stable
polymorph (alabandite) with rock-salt-type structure, b-and g-
MnS are pink metastable modifications with zinc blende and
wurtzite structures,respectively.
[25–27]
The expanded interlayer
of g-phase MnS with awurtzite structure, which increases the
kinetics of the intercalation of hydroxyl ions, will possess
ahigh electrochemical reactivity for the capacitive behavior.As
we know,several papers have reported the applicationofMnS
as an anode materialfor Li-ion batteries.
[28–30]
However,little at-
tention has been paid to utilizingMnS as an electrode material
for supercapacitors, mainly because of its low electrical con-
ductivity and poor cycling performance.
[29]
Among the various
carbon materials, CNTshave been widely used as conductive
substrates to construct miscellaneous hybrid structures owing
[a] X. Hou, Dr.T.Peng,Q.Yu, R. Luo, Y. Zhang,Y.Wang,Y.Guo, Prof. Y. Luo
SchoolofPhysics and Electronic Engineering
XinyangNormal University
Xinyang464000 (P.R. China)
E-mail:ysluo@xynu.edu.cn
[b] X. Hou, Dr.T.Peng,Q.Yu, R. Luo, Y. Zhang,Y.Wang,Y.Guo, Prof. Y. Luo
Key Laboratory of Advanced Micro/Nano Functional Materials
XinyangNormal University
Xinyang464000 (P.R. China)
[c] Prof. X. Liu
College of Chemistryand Chemical Engineering
Luoyang Normal University
Luoyang 471022(P.R. China)
[d] Prof. J.-K. Kim
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Hong Kong UniversityofScience and Technology
Clear Water Bay,Kowloon, Hong Kong (P.R. China)
Supportinginformation for this article can be found under:
https://doi.org/10.1002/cnma.201700109.
ChemNanoMat 2017, 3,551 –559 T 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim551
Full Paper
DOI:10.1002/cnma.201700109