In the present work, we synthesized CoxZn1-xFe2O4 spinel ferrite nanoparticles (x= 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.4) via the precipitation and hydrothermal-joint method. Structural parameters were cross-verified using X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) and electron microscopy-based techniques. The magnetic parameters were determined by means of vibrating sample magnetometry. The as-synthesized CoxZn1-xFe2O4 nanoparticles exhibit high phase purity with a single-phase cubic spinel-type structure of Zn-ferrite. The microstructural parameters of the samples were estimated by XRD line profile analysis using the Williamson–Hall approach. The calculated grain sizes from XRPD analysis for the synthesized samples ranged from 8.3 to 11.4 nm. The electron microscopy analysis revealed that the constituents of all powder samples are spherical nanoparticles with proportions highly dependent on the Co doping ratio. The CoxZn1-xFe2O4 spinel ferrite system exhibits paramagnetic, superparamagnetic and weak ferromagnetic behavior at room temperature depending on the Co2+ doping ratio, while ferromagnetic ordering with a clear hysteresis loop is observed at low temperatures (5K). We concluded that replacing Zn2+ ions with Co2+ ions changes both the structural and magnetic properties of ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles.
Optimization of suitable electrode material flashing high electrochemical performance is the main hindrance in energy storage applications. Metal oxide-based electrode materials are promising candidate which greatly promotes the sustainable development. Herein, strontium oxide (SrO) is synthesized from sonochemical method followed by calcination. Incorporating polyaniline (PANI) and graphene (Gr) intensify the materials performance. Three asymmetric devices are designed using SrO, its composites (SrO/PANI and SrO/PANI/Gr) and activated carbon (AC) as an electrode and electrolyte-soaked separators are sandwiched in solidly packed cell assembly. Electrochemical measurements are performed to scrutinize the inherent properties. After that, Dunn’s model is applied to evaluate the capacitive and diffusion-controlled contributions. The obtained result divulges that SrO/PANI/Gr//AC exhibits more diffusive-controlled contribution and reveals a battery type behavior due to the contribution of PANI in redox reactions. Thus, this work delivers a route to synthesize metal oxides-based composites and a systematic approach to analyze the charge storage mechanism in asymmetric supercapacitors.