Mixed Oxides, (Ni1–xZnx)Fe2O4 (x = 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1): Molten Salt Synthesis, Characterization and Its Lithium-Storage Performance for Lithium Ion Batteries

Abstract

We prepared solid solutions based on Ni, Zn, and Fe oxides to be used as nanomaterials for anodes of Li-ion batteries. The materials were synthesized using molten salt method with KCl as the molten salt. The prepared nanomaterials (Ni1–xZnx)Fe2O4 (x = 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1) were subsequently characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface and density methods. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and galvanostatic cycling tests were then conducted to understand the lithium storage performance of the electrodes. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was also performed to analyze the kinetics of our electrodes and other characteristics of the battery cell. The electrochemical properties of prepared compounds showed reversible capacities (mAh/g) of 706, 819, 603, 781, 637 for x = 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, and 1 at the end of the 50th cycle.