Tailoring and boosting the charge storage capacity of Li-ion batteries using Eu_xCu_1-xFe₂O₄ as an electrode material

In the current work, Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) were developed using copper ferrite as the primary anode material. Due to its high resistivity and low eddy current loss, copper ferrite is suitable for high-frequency applications. Pure and Eu-doped CuFe₂O₄ nanocomposites have been successfully synthesized by the hydrothermal method. The synthesized nanomaterials were comprehensively characterized to evaluate their structural, morphological, and elemental properties utilizing various advanced analytical techniques. X-ray diffraction analysis was employed to determine the materials' crystallographic structure and phase purity. The observed reflections in the XRD pattern confirm the successful formation of the tetragonal phase of copper ferrite, with no detectable secondary phase and impurity peaks. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was conducted to investigate the surface morphology and topographic features, while Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), coupled with SEM, enables qualitative and quantitative elemental analysis. As revealed by SEM, the surface morphology exhibits a beaded architecture characterized by vertical stacking of nanorods arranged in sequential, overlapping manners. The charge storage capacity, cyclic stability, and redox behavior of synthesized nanomaterials as an anode in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) were systematically evaluated using galvanostatic charge-discharge (GCD) measurements and cyclic voltammetry (CV). The CuFe₂O₄ nanocomposites doped with 3 mol% Eu (CuFe₂O₄-3 mol% Eu) exhibited a high specific discharge capacity of 850 mAh g^-1 and demonstrated an excellent cyclic stability, retaining 97% of its capacity over 100 cycles at 0.1 Ag^-1. This study indicates that the Eu_xCu_1-xFe₂O₄ nanocomposite exhibits an optimal balance between high initial energy storage and long-term electrochemical stability, highlighting its potential as an efficient anode material in lithium-ion batteries.