Magnesium peroxide has been identified in Mg/air batteries as an intermediate in the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) [1]. It is assumed that MgO2 is involved in the solid-electrolyte interphase on the cathode surface. Therefore its structure and stability play a crucial role in the performance of Mg/air batteries. In this work we present a theoretical study of the bulk and low-index surface properties of MgO2. All methods give a good account of the experimental lattice parameters for MgO2 and MgO bulk. The reaction energies, enthalpies and free energies for MgO2 formation from MgO are compared among the different DFT methods and with the local MP2 method. A pronounced dependence from the applied functional is found. At variance with a previous theoretical study but in agreement with recent experiments we find that the MgO2 formation reaction is endothermic (HSE06-D3BJ: Delta H=51.9 kJ/mol). The stability of low-index surfaces MgO2 (001) (E-s = 0.96 J/m(2)) and (011) (E-s = 1.98 J/m(2)) is calculated and compared to the surface energy of MgO (001). The formation energy of neutral oxygen vacancies in the topmost layer of the MgO2 (001) surface is calculated and compared with defect formation energies for MgO (001). (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.