Replacing oxygen in an oxide-based material with sulfur can produce improved flexibility and more efficient electron transport in its structure leading to enhanced electrical performance. Herein, facile template-free growth of free-standing cobalt (II, III) oxide (Co 3 O 4 ) on Ni foam via a mild hydrothermal technique followed by its transformation to cobalt (II, III) sulfide (Co 3 S 4 ) via an ion-exchange is reported. The microstructural morphology, phase, and porosity of the prepared Co 3 O 4 and Co 3 S 4 are characterized by FESEM, XRD, Raman, XPS, TEM, and BET analyses. The electrochemical performance of the Co 3 S 4 film with a microporous morphology is considerably superior to that of Co 3 O 4 , exhibiting a high specific capacitance of 1604 F g À1 (905 F g À1 for Co 3 O 4 ), the excellent restorative ability of $99% at 1 A g À1 ($96% for Co 3 O 4 ), and