Sol-gel Synthesis of Mn-substituted Cupper Ferrite (MnxCu1-x Fe2O4, x=0, 0.33, 0.67, 1.00) Nano Particles as Anode for Lithium Ion Batteries

Abstract

Mn substituted Cupper ferrites (MnxCu1-x Fe2O4, x=0, 0.33, 0.67, 1.00) have been synthesized from metal nitrates and citric acid by sol-gel method (chemical process). This study aims to know the effects of Mn substitution on structural, magnetic and electrochemical properties of Cupper ferrites. For characterizing the prepared ferrites, different techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy were used. In addition, vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) is used for investigation of magnetic properties such as saturation magnetization (Ms), residual magnetism (Mr) and coercive force (Hc). A single phase spinal structure was confirmed by XRD and lattice parameter was increased from 8.36 Å to 8.52 Å with increasing Mn contents. Micro-graphs of SEM show that nanoparticles are agglomerated and non-uniform in size. The FTIR spectrum shows that the absorption band of the octahedral B-site is at about 1422 cm-1 to 1434 cm-1. For pure cupper ferrite, band is shifted towards higher frequency by manganese content. CV results show that with increase in scan rate, specific capacitance decreases so the area of loop increases which clearly means that the investigated material is best for storage devices such as lithium ion batteries (LIBs).