Supercapacitor behavior of SiC coated copper hydroxide and copper sulfide nano-wires

Abstract Copper hydroxide and copper sulfide nanowires were prepared by a chemical route on copper substrates. Their electrochemical and super-capacitive behavior compared with the case that theses nanowires are coated with silicon carbide. Different experiments including FE-SEM, XRD, Cyclic voltammetry, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy were conducted. FE-SEM micrographs revealed that copper sulfide nanowires have more roughness and interconnections compared to copper hydroxide nanowires. Based on the cyclic voltammetry experiments, the SiC coating on nanowires enhanced the supercapacity, in copper hydroxide nanowires from 352 F/g to 747 F/g, along with increase in rate capability from 71.8 to 95.4%, and also in the copper sulfide nanowires from 1712 F/g to 3370 F/g, with considerable rise in rate capability from 88.6% to 98.4% retention in 1000 cycles.