https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-026-07317-0
Regular Article
Phytochemical-modulated combustion synthesis of CuFe2O4: defect architecture-driven enhancement in photocatalysis, antioxidant activity, and electrochemical sensing
Department of Physics, Bangalore University, Jnana Bharathi Campus, 560056, Bengaluru, India
a
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Received:
28
October
2025
Accepted:
12
January
2026
Published online:
28
January
2026
Abstract
Long-term, high-performance nanocatalyst development requires environmentally friendly synthesis, defect engineering, and multifunctionality. CuFe2O4 nanospinels were ecologically produced using phytogenic combustion and bioactive fuels derived from Plumeria rubra and Caesalpinia pulcherrima. The lattice constants were 4.46 and 4.88 Å, while the Plumeria and Caesalpinia crystallites had sizes of 11.56 and 10.82 nm, respectively. FESEM analysis revealed semi-spherical nanoparticles with diameters of 35.0 and 36.7 nm. UV–Vis spectroscopy revealed that Plumeria and Caesalpinia defects serve as mediators of strong electronic transitions. The indirect bandgap is 2.22 eV, while the direct bandgap is adjustable up to 2.60 eV. Photoluminescence emission at 486–624 nm revealed oxygen vacancies, antisite disorder, mixed-valence Cu⁺/Cu3⁺ and Fe3⁺ centres, and Jahn–Teller distortions. Electrochemical profiling revealed reversible redox processes with peak currents of 1.95 mA and −1.83 mA, providing sensitive biosensing capabilities. The CuFe2O4 electrode's rapid electron-transfer kinetics and numerous electroactive sites resulted in low detection limits of 0.172 μM for L-histidine and 0.329 μM for D-fructose. Plumeria nanoparticles had a higher radical-quenching efficiency (IC50) of 107.42 mg mL−1 in DPPH-based antioxidant tests than Caesalpinia nanoparticles (IC50) of 978.16 mg mL−1. After 120 min of sunlight exposure, the Plumeria catalyst reduced anthocyanin dyes by 71.84%, while the Caesalpinia catalyst reduced them by 75.86%. Kinetic analysis confirmed the pseudo-first-order behaviour at rate constants of 0.0106 and 0.0114 per minute. The two catalysts' efficiency remained between 65 and 69% after four degradation cycles. This study uses phytogenic combustion to create CuFe₂O₄ nanospinels that are defect-free, optoelectronically flexible, and catalytically stable. They are scalable nanomaterials with a wide range of beneficial properties, including antioxidant, photocatalytic, structural, optical, electrochemical, and advanced biosensing capabilities, as well as pollution degradation and multifunctional catalysis.
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© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Società Italiana di Fisica and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2026
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
