High-yield room temperature route to copper sulfide hollow nanospheres and their electrochemical properties

CuS hollow nanospheres have been successfully synthesized in high yield by reacting anhydrous cupric sulfate (CuSO(4)·5H(2)O) with thioacetamide (TAA) in ethylene glycol (EG) with the assistance of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). The products were characterized systematically by XRD, EDX, FESEM, TEM and BET measurement and size analysis, CV, LSV and CP. FESEM and TEM images revealed that the as-prepared CuS hollow nanospheres had a mean diameter of about 500 nm with a hollow cavity of about 340 nm and shell thickness of about 80 nm. The spheres were constructed by numerous nanoflakes. The Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area of the as-synthesized products was measured to be 99.77 m(2)g(-1). The Barrett-Joyner-Halenda (BJH) model analysis showed that the as-prepared CuS materials had a main pore size distribution of around 25 nm. CV curves, LSV of CuS for oxygen electroreduction and CP curves showed that the as-prepared CuS nanospheres were potential candidates which can be used as cathode catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline media.