A simple, one-step approach has been developed to prepare a composite of cobalt sulfide/reduced graphene oxide (CoS/rGO) by using sodium thiosulfate as a sulfur source. The reduction of GO and the growth of CoS occurred simultaneously, forming a hybrid structure with CoS anchoring on rGO surface. The prepared CoS/rGO composite was applied as an electrode material and found to exhibit a high specific capacitance and rate capability, such as 550 F/g and 400 F/g at a current density of 1 A/g and 40 A/g respectively as well as excellent cyclic stability for 5000 cycles of 2 charge-discharge. The CoS/rGO composite could be a promising electrode material for a high performance supercapacitor. 3 improve the performances of each component but also create the new functions owning to the synergic effect originated from recombination. Recently, much effort has been put into the development of metal sulfides-based graphene composites [1,[20][21][22][23][24][25][26], in which the synthesis of the composite is usually multi-step and high-cost. In this study, a cobalt sulfides/reduced graphene oxide (CoS/rGO) composite has been synthesized via a simple, one-step hydrothermal method by using Na 2 S 2 O 3 as a sulfur source and hydrazine hydrate as a reductant. The electrochemical tests suggested that the obtained composite exhibited a high rate capability and good cycling stability as used for an electrode of a supercapacitor.
Experimental
Preparation of GOGO was prepared from graphite powder by a modified Hummers method [27].Specifically, 6 g of graphite was added into 40 mL of concentrated H 2 SO 4 , followed by adding 5 g of K 2 S 2 O 8 and 5 g of P 2 O 5 . The mixture was heated to 80 ℃ and maintained for 24 h. It was then diluted with 250 mL of distilled (DI) water. The product was filtered, washed with DI water for several times, and dried. The obtained pre-oxidized graphite was put into 150 mL of concentrated H 2 SO 4 with mechanical stirring, and to which, at the same time, 30 g of KMnO 4 powder was slowly added under ice-bath. After being stirred at 35 ℃ for 24 h, the products were transferred into 200 mL of distilled water, then to which 10 mL of 30 % H 2 O 2 was added drop by drop. The obtained GO suspension was centrifuged. The precipitate was washed with 1 L of a 1:10 HCl solution, and then dialyzed for a week to remove acids and ions.
Synthesis of CoS/rGO composite80 mg of the as-prepared GO was dispersed into 70 mL of DI water under ultrasound for 4 h to form a uniform dispersion. Then, 1 mmol of CoCl 2 ·6H 2 O was added into the above dispersion under stirring, followed by adding 0.5 mmol of Na 2 S 2 O 3 ·5H 2 O. After stirred for 0.5 h, the mixture was added with 2 mL of hydrazine hydrate, transferred into a 100 mL of Teflon-lined autoclave and then heated at 180℃for 12 h. The produced CoS/rGO was centrifuged, washed with DI water and ethanol each for several times and dried in a vacuum oven at 60 ℃. CoS was also prepared by using the same method without GO as a comparison.
Material CharacterizationsX-ray diffra...