Tween modified CuFe2O4 nanoparticles with enhanced supercapacitor performance

Binary metal oxides CuFe2O4 can be a low-cost and high-performance pseudo-capacitive electrode material. However, their large size distributions and low dispersion caused by agglomeration can not exert their potential capacity. Hence, we used tween to modify CuFe2O4 (CuFe2O4-T) nanoparticles via a facile hydrothermal method. The composite nanoparticles were characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, UV-Vis reflectance spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. After modification, CuFe2O4-T showed high purity, greatly reduced particle size with the diameter about 10-20 nm, and decreased bandgap energy. When serving as supercapacitor electrodes, their electrochemical behaviors were examined by cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge-discharge study, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. CuFe2O4-T exhibited improved supercapacitor behavior, with a specific capacitance of 437.3 F g(-1) at the scan rate of 0.004 V s(-1) in 0.5 M H2SO4 electrolyte, 88.6% capacitance stability retention over 2000 cycles. An asymmetric supercapacitor device was assembled by using CuFe2O4-T as a positive electrode, which showed good capacitive behavior and cyclic stability. This work indicates that tween can effectively improve the performance of CuFe2O4 nanoparticles, and CuFe2O4-T will have great promise for wide electrochemical application.

Automated summary

The study demonstrates that using tween to modify CuFe2O4 nanoparticles results in improved performance, with CuFe2O4-T exhibiting a specific capacitance of 437.3 F g(-1) in 0.5 M H2SO4 electrolyte and retaining 88.6% capacitance stability after 2000 cycles. As a positive electrode in an asymmetric supercapacitor device, CuFe2O4-T shows good capacitive behavior and cyclic stability.