Electrodeposited CuMnS and CoMnS electrodes for high-performance asymmetric supercapacitor devices

The transition metal sulfides have gained extensive interest in energy storage devices owing to their unique features. However, the research-based on cobalt, copper and manganese sulfide composites is limited while they are considered as promising contenders for supercapacitor electrodes. The simplest and facile one-step electrodeposition technique was adopted for the direct growth of CuMnS and CoMnS on a Ni-substrate. The electrochemical properties of CuMnS and CoMnS electrodes were investigated and maximum specific capacitances of 1691 and 2290 F/g, respectively, were obtained at 10 A/g current density. Further, these electrodes are investigated with activated carbon (AC) electrode to fabricate asymmetric supercapacitor devices where CoMnS//AC exhibited superior energy density values than CuMnS//AC device. However, both the devices show a relatively uniform capacitance retention rate (similar to 94%) after 2500 charging-discharging cycles. Furthermore, the role of capacitive- and diffusive-controlled contributions in the charge storage phenomenon of supercapacitor devices are explicitly scrutinized by employing Dunn's model. Co-electrodeposition of transition metal sulfides has great potential as electrode material for highly effective supercapacitor devices.