A new strategy has been designed for enhancing the electrochemical performances of the supercapacitor and water-splitting electrodes. Hetero-structure composite electrode based on copper sulfide (CuS), zinc oxide (ZnO), and porous carbonized cotton (PCc) is prepared via vacuum thermal evaporation technology and successive ionic layer adsorption methods. Porous substrate provides plenty of active sites, which facilitates the exchange of ions/charges in the electrode processes. The composite electrode exhibits outstanding electrochemical energy storage and electrocatalytic performances. The symmetrical supercapacitor as assembled reaches a high energy density of 0.27 Wh cm⁻² at the power density of 3.34 W cm⁻². By optimizing the composite structure, the energy barriers of the CuS/ZnO/PCc compound are reduced obviously in oxygen evolution reaction in comparison with pure PCc or CuS/PCc. The overpotential of the sample is decreased to 337 mV (10 mA cm⁻² of the loop current) compared to that of PCc (492 mV) and CuS/PCc (415 mV). This work may inspire the rational design of composite electrode materials to achieve high performance in cross-field applications.

设计了一种新策略来提高超级电容器和水分解电极的电化学性能。采用真空热蒸发技术和连续离子层吸附法制备了基于硫化铜（CuS）、氧化锌（ZnO）和多孔碳化棉（PCc）的异质结构复合电极。多孔基材提供了大量的活性位点，这有利于电极过程中离子/电荷的交换。该复合电极表现出优异的电化学储能和电催化性能。组装后的对称超级电容器在 3.34 W cm ^-2的功率密度下达到 0.27 Wh cm ^-2的高能量密度. 通过优化复合结构，与纯PCc或CuS/PCc相比，CuS/ZnO/PCc化合物在析氧反应中的能垒明显降低。与 PCc (492 mV) 和 CuS/PCc (415 mV) 相比，样品的过电位降低至 337 mV（回路电流的10 mA cm ^-2）。这项工作可能会启发复合电极材料的合理设计，以在跨领域应用中实现高性能。