Cu-Mo-S Mixed Chalcogenide Nanostructures for Pseudocapacitive Applications

The present work reports the synthesis of a Cu-Mo-S mixed chalcogenide by wet chemical synthesis. The compound exhibited morphology similar to nanocubes with size in the range of 30-50 nm. The phase formation and pseudocapacitive properties of the compound were investigated. X-ray diffraction analyses demonstrated the presence of CuS and a ternary phase that do not match with any reported structure. The ternary phase exhibited cube-like structures with a size in the range of 60-80 nm. Extensive electron diffraction analysis using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy established that the compound belongs to the tetragonal phase (space group: P4/mmm), exhibiting a structure similar to the Cu4RbS3 phase. The scanning transmission electron microscopy-energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy established the chemical composition and confirmed the presence of a ternary Cu-Mo-S (Cu21Mo5S14) phase. The compound exhibited a maximum specific capacitance of 159 F g(-1) at a scan rate of 5 mV s(-1) in 1 M Na(2)SO(4 )electrolyte.