Multifunctional NiFe2O4 nanoparticles for sodium-ion batteries, sensing, and photocatalysis

Abstract

NiFe₂O₄ nanoparticles (NPs) have attracted great attention in various areas, such as sodium-ion batteries (NaIBs), biosensing, and catalysis. In this direction, herein, NiFe₂O₄ NPs were synthesized via a simple co-precipitation method using cetrimide as a surfactant, and they were characterized using different physicochemical techniques. NiFe₂O₄ was examined as a negative electrode for NaIBs. The NiFe₂O₄ anode exhibited excellent electrochemical and mechanical stability. It delivered a high specific capacity of 1103 mA h g⁻¹ in the first cycle, which is much higher than its theoretical capacity (915 mA h g⁻¹), and a capacity of 200 mA h g⁻¹ was achieved at the end of 100 cycles. It exhibited excellent catalytic activity towards the electrochemical oxidation of uric acid (UA), and this was studied in detail based on cyclic voltammograms. In addition to this, the NPs showed good photocatalytic activity under visible light irradiation for the degradation of mixed organic dyes.