Highly stable mesoporous CeO2/CeS2 nanocomposite as electrode material with improved supercapacitor electrochemical performance

Abstract The performance of a pseudocapacitor electrode relies largely on the conductivity, cyclic stability, specific surface area and the mesoporosity of the nanomaterials. The CeO 2 is highly stable oxide but poor conductor, on the other hand, CeS 2 is highly conductive but its stability is questionable. Herein, we report the synthesis of CeO 2 /CeS 2 nanocomposite, and exploit the properties of both the constituent materials and demonstrates that CeO 2 /CeS 2 nanocomposite electrode exhibits an improved capacitance and energy density than CeO 2 nanomaterial. It encompasses large number of pores with a mean size of ∼17 nm. The mesoporous nature of the CeO 2 /CeS 2 nanocomposite electrode increases its activity, rapid diffusion and transportation of ions and facilitates surface-dependent reversible redox reactions. The nanocomposite electrode demonstrates high stability and its specific capacitance increases almost linearly up to 1000 cyclic voltammetry (CV) cycles. At a current density of 1 A/g it achieves a specific capacitance of 420 F/g. These findings evidently suggest the practical use of CeO 2 /CeS 2 nanocomposite as electrode material for future supercapacitors.