Spinel CuCo₂O₄Nanoparticles: Facile One-Step Synthesis, Optical, and Electrochemical properties

Nanocrystalline CuCo 2 O 4 spinel structure was prepared by a facile one-step route without any surfactant. The materials physio-chemical properties were systematically investigated with different analytical methods. It is observed that the spinel type CuCo 2 O 4 nanoparticles showed interesting multi-functional features for both optical and electrochemical applications.Typical x-ray diffraction pattern indicates the growth of well-crystalline CuCo 2 O 4 nanoparticles with a cubic spinel structure. From the transmission electron microscope images, a uniform particle distribution with an average size of ∼20 nm can be seen. UV-visible spectrum shows the absorption maximum at 264.5 nm and exhibits an optical band gap 4.02 eV. Electrochemical analysis further reveals the pseudo-capacitive behaviour with the specific capacitance of 290 F g −1 at 2 mA cm −2 . In addition, the magnetic study of CuCo 2 O 4 substantiates the presence of room temperature weak ferromagnetic ordering at low magnetic field strength.