Engineered flower-like hierarchical Cu₂S architectures mediated by carbon nanotubes and Ti₃C₂ for enhanced ionic diffusion and charge carriers in hybrid supercapacitors

Growing global energy demands have stimulated extensive efforts toward sustainable energy solutions. In this work, Cu₂S (CS) and its composites (CS-CNTs and CS-MXene) were studied for advanced supercapacitor devices. Surface analysis revealed a flower-like hierarchical architecture with high porosity, as evident by Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis, providing abundant active sites and promoting fast ion transport. Dunn's model analysis revealed a hybrid charge-storage behavior of all the prepared electrode materials. Among all prepared electrodes, the CS/MXene demonstrated the most superior electrochemical features in half-cell analysis, exhibiting a specific capacity (C _sc) of 1692C g^-1 with an impressive energy density (E _d) of 112 Wh kg^-1 at a current density (I _d) of 11.7 A g^-1. Upon full-cell analysis, the CS/MXene composite delivered a remarkable C _sc of 371.63C g^-1 at I _d of 3.13 A g^-1, with E _d of 61.93 Wh kg^-1 at P _d of 1882.35. Furthermore, the CS/MXene retained 97.5% of its initial capacity after 5000 consecutive charge/discharge cycles. Furthermore, the electrode exhibited the shortest relaxation time, moderate diffusion coefficient and the highest ionic conductivity (0.092 S cm^-1), confirming its superior charge transport efficiency compared to other electrodes. Collectively, these results highlight the potential of these materials for high-performance hybrid supercapacitors.