Marigold flower like structured Cu₂NiSnS₄ electrode for high energy asymmetric solid state supercapacitors

Area of Science:

• Materials Science and Engineering
• Electrochemistry
• Energy Storage

Background:

• Supercapacitors are critical for modern energy devices, demanding high-performance, cost-effective, and abundant electrode materials for commercial viability.
• Quaternary chalcogenides offer potential as advanced electrode materials due to their unique structural and electronic properties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize a novel microstructured quaternary chalcogenide, Cu2NiSnS4, for supercapacitor applications.
• To investigate the effect of citric acid concentration on the electrochemical performance of Cu2NiSnS4 electrodes.
• To evaluate the potential of Cu2NiSnS4 as a promising electrode material for high-performance supercapacitors.

Main Methods:

• Solvothermal synthesis of Cu2NiSnS4 with varying citric acid concentrations (0, 0.05 M, 0.1 M, 0.2 M).
• Physicochemical characterization using standard techniques.
• Electrochemical performance evaluation including specific capacitance, cycling stability, and device fabrication.

Main Results:

• Cu2NiSnS4 synthesized with 0.1 M citric acid (Cu2NiSnS4@0.1 M-CA) exhibited a specific capacitance of 1029 F/g at 0.5 A/g.
• The optimized electrode retained 78.65% of its capacity over 5000 cycles.
• An asymmetric solid-state device fabricated with Cu2NiSnS4@0.1 M-CA demonstrated energy density of 41.25 Wh/Kg and power density of 750 Wh/Kg.

Conclusions:

• The citric acid-optimized Cu2NiSnS4 electrode material shows excellent electrochemical performance, including high specific capacitance and excellent cycling stability.
• The fabricated asymmetric solid-state device highlights the practical applicability of Cu2NiSnS4 for energy storage.
• Cu2NiSnS4 is identified as a highly promising candidate for next-generation supercapacitor applications.