Flower-like Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) transition metal sulphide (TMS) as a micro-structured electrode in rechargeable lithium batteries

Rechargeable lithium batteries exhibit the advantages of high energy density with a broad range of potential applications, from portable electronics to highly energy-demanding electric vehicles. Recently, transition metal sulphides (TMS) have been regarded as a promising candidate for a microstructure electrode in electrochemical energy storage devices because it has a higher theoretical capacity (∼847 mAh g⁻¹) compared to a commercial lithium-ion battery (LIB) (∼372 mAh g⁻¹). Thus, this work aims to explore the capacity performance and cycling stabilities of the transition metal sulphide, Cu₂ZnSnS₄ (CZTS) microstructure electrode using galvanostatic technique. The CZTS was synthesised via the sol-gel method followed by sulphurisation at 550 °C under nitrogen atmosphere. The structural analysis showed that the CZTS nanoflower took on morphology of kesterite phase and possessed an average chemical stoichiometric composition of Cu_2.2Zn_1.9Sn_1.5S₄. The as-prepared CZTS-Li half-cell configuration exhibited high reversible capacity but lack in cycling performance at room temperature under a potential window from 3.0 to 0.01 V (vs. Li⁺/Li). The achieved initial discharge capacity is obtained at ∼578.89 mAh g⁻¹, which suggests that the kesterite CZTS can be a promising electrode material for rechargeable lithium-CZTS batteries.