Fabrication and electrochemical performance of nickel ferrite nanoparticles as anode material in lithium ion batteries

Abstract

Nano-sized nickel ferrite (NiFe 2O 4) was prepared by hydrothermal method at low temperature. The crystalline phase, morphology and specific surface area (BET) of the resultant samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and nitrogen physical adsorption, respectively. The particle sizes of the resulting NiFe 2O 4 samples were in the range of 5–15 nm. The electrochemical performance of NiFe 2O 4 nanoparticles as the anodic material in lithium ion batteries was tested. It was found that the first discharge capacity of the anode made from NiFe 2O 4 nanoparticles could reach a very high value of 1314 mAh g −1, while the discharge capacity decreased to 790.8 mAh g −1 and 709.0 mAh g −1 at a current density of 0.2 mA cm −2 after 2 and 3 cycles, respectively. The BET surface area is up to 111.4 m 2 g −1. The reaction mechanism between lithium and nickel ferrite was also discussed based on the results of cycle voltammetry (CV) experiments.