Iron-nickel spinel oxide as an electrocatalyst for non-aqueous rechargeable lithium-oxygen batteries

A lithium-oxygen (Li-O-2) battery requires effective catalyst to enable oxygen reduction and evolution. Herein, we report the synthesis of novel macroporous NiFe2O4 nanoparticles by a facile and cost-effective urea assisted co-precipitation process. Characterization of the catalysts by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy confirms the formation of a single phase NiFe2O4 structure. The use of macroporous NiFe2O4 particles as oxygen electrode catalyst in rechargeable Li-O-2 batteries, exhibits a superior catalytic activity with high reversible capacity of 5940 mA h g(-1). Additionally, catalytic activity results in low charge over potential and comparable discharge capacity and cycling stability, indicating its potential as a promising catalyst for Li-O-2 batteries. The simple and cost effective chemical co-precipitation method can be explored for synthesis of another oxides based catalyst materials. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.