Abstract

Transition metal oxides in the nano size region are enormous attention as a new generation of anode materials for high energy density Li-ion batteries. MgFe₂O₄ is used for the first time as active electrode vs. lithium metal in test cells. The research has been focused on the effect of grain size of MgFe₂O₄ and their electrochemical performance studied. In this studies, nanostructured milled MgFe₂O₄ (grain size 19 nm) sample have been compared with relatively large-sized as-prepared sample (grain size 72 nm). From the result, the 19 nm grain size sample delivered an improved discharge capacity of around 850 mAh/g, whereas it is only 630 mAh/g for as-prepared sample (72 nm). These values are two times higher than that of a carbon anode (372 mAh/g). The anomalous capacity may be associated with the formation of oxygen rich MgFe₂O₄ samples.

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