Monodisperse CoFe2O4 nanoparticles supported on Vulcan XC-72: High performance electrode materials for lithium-air and lithium-ion batteries

Abstract Addressed herein is the preparation and the electrode performance of monodisperse CoFe 2 O 4 nanoparticles (NPs) supported on Vulcan XC-72 for the Lithium-air battery (LAB) and Lithium-ion battery (LIB). Monodisperse CoFe 2 O 4 NPs were synthesized by the thermal decomposition of cobalt(II) acetylacetonate and iron(III) acetylacetonate in oleylamine and oleic acid in the presence of 1,2-tetradecanediol and benzyl ether. As-prepared CoFe 2 O 4 NPs with a particle size of 11 nm were then supported on Vulcan XC-72 (Vulcan-CoFe 2 O 4 ) at different theoretical loadings (20, 40 and 60 wt % CoFe 2 O 4 NPs) by using the simple liquid phase self assembly method. CoFe 2 O 4 NPs dispersed on Vulcan-CoFe 2 O 4 composites were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) and atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). The AAS analyses indicated that the Vulcan-CoFe 2 O 4 composites with different loadings were included 3.7, 8.1 and 16.4 wt % CoFe 2 O 4 on the metal basis. The electrode performance of Vulcan-CoFe 2 O 4 composites were evaluated as the anode active material for LIB and cathode active material for LABs by performing the galvanostatic charge–discharge tests. The highest discharge capacity for both LAB (7510 mAh g (Vulcan+CoFe2O4) −1 ; 13380 mAh g CoFe2O4 −1 @ 0.1C) and LIB (863 mAh g (Vulcan+CoFe2O4) −1 ; 9330 mAh g CoFe2O4 −1 @ 0.1C) was investigated with 16.4 wt % CoFe 2 O 4 .