Research progress in preparation and application of spinel-type metallic oxides (M≥2)

Metal spinel oxides (MSOs) are inexpensive and non-toxic, and they provide excellent performance as cathode materials for batteries. This paper is focused on the main synthetic methods for MSOs, such as the coprecipitation method, hydrothermal method, sol-gel method and electrospinning method, and their applications in the fields of adsorption catalysis, magnetic materials, electrodes and sensors. Then, modifications and applications of AB2O4 (M ≥ 2, B = Al, Fe, Co and Mn) MSOs are compared. The advantages and disadvantages of MSO synthetic methods are briefly introduced and discussed. Finally, the new development trends for MSO syntheses and extensions of the application fields are discussed.