Abstract
The present communication demonstrates the first environmentally friendly hydrothermal synthesis of nickel sulfide nanospheres/reduced graphene oxide (nickel sulfides/rGO) nanocomposites with the use of l-cysteine as a reducing agent, sulfur donor, and linker. The nanosphere consists of ultrafine particles leading to textural pores. The resulting nickel sulfides/rGO nanocomposites were further used as an electrode material for supercapacitors and found to exhibit very high specific capacitances of 1169Fg−1 and 761Fg−1 at current rates of 5Ag−1 and 50Ag−1, respectively, with good cycling stability.
•The nickel sulfides/rGO nanocomposites were biomolecule-assisted prepared.•The nanocomposites were applied in supercapacitors with good cycling stability.•The nanocomposites deliver a specific capacitance of 1169 F g−1 at 5 A g−1.•The nanocomposites deliver a specific capacitance of 761 F g−1 at 50 A g−1.