ABSTRACT Cu 2 MnSnS 4 (CMTS) nanospheres were synthesized employing a facile solvothermal method. The material was thoroughly characterized and studied for electrochemical energy storage and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in alkaline media. The FESEM and TEM analyses confirmed the formation of uniform nanospheres (∼200–250 nm) composed of hierarchical spherulites, while phase and structural analysis by XRD and Raman spectroscopy revealed a phase‐pure tetragonal structure. Additional characterization was done using EDS and FTIR spectroscopy. The as‐prepared CMTS was employed as a pseudocapacitive electrode material. The rough morphology provides efficient ion transport and abundant electroactive sites, contributing to a high specific capacitance of 524 F g −1 at a current density of 2 A g −1 and stable cycling performance. For electrocatalytic studies, CMTS delivered an overpotential of 353 mV at 10 mA cm −2 , a Tafel slope of 92 mV dec −1 , and a low charge‐transfer resistance of 30 Ω, comparable to the commercial 20% Pt/C catalyst. The catalyst retained its activity over 3000 continuous OER cycles, indicating good structural stability. The enhanced performance originates from the synergistic interaction of multi‐metallic active centers, sulfur defects, and the rough hierarchical nanostructure. Overall, CMTS nanospheres present a promising and novel bifunctional material for supercapacitor and alkaline OER applications.
Sarkar et al. (Wed,) studied this question.