Nickel doped copper ferrite NixCu1−xFe2O4 for a high crystalline anode material for lithium ion batteries

Transition metal oxides (TMO) have great potential applications in efficient energy storage devices for their commercial possibilities in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, they suffer from a limited synthetic route and lack an in-depth designing of ferrite-based electrode materials with improved electrochemical performances. Herein, a co-precipitation technique was applied to synthesize Ni-doped Cu ferrite NixCu1−xFe2O4 with different ratios of Ni (x = 0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5) as a high performance anode material for LIBs. The resulting NixCu1−xFe2O4 of uniform size demonstrated excellent electrochemical performances with a high dimensional stability regardless of 250 cycles at a current rate of 2C. In particular, the NixCu1−xFe2O4 hybrid structure combined the advantages of both the Ni and Cu ferrite, which manifested a significant enhancement in the electrochemical performances of LIBs. The crystalline phase, morphology, electrochemical performances and reaction mechanism between Li and the active materials were briefly discussed.