Mechanochemical transformation of spent ternary lithium-ion battery electrode material to perovskite oxides for catalytic CO oxidation

• Published in: Journal of materials chemistry. A, Materials for energy and sustainability Vol. 12; no. 39; pp. 26877 - 26889
• Main Authors: Nie, Guangze, Du, Xiangqian, Yu, Hongchao, Fan, Weiyi, Pan, Min, Gao, Fei, Wu, Feng, Hong, Yunchuan, Tang, Hongjian, Zhou, Zhihao, Deng, Guoshu, Li, Lin, Sun, Zhenkun, Duan, Lunbo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge Royal Society of Chemistry 08.10.2024
• Subjects: Ball milling; Carbon monoxide; Catalysts; Chemical synthesis; Circular economy; Cobalt; Electrode materials; Electrodes; Environmental management; Fine chemicals; Heavy metals; Leaching; Liquid wastes; Lithium; Lithium-ion batteries; Low temperature; Manganese; Materials recovery; Nickel; Oxidation; Performance degradation; Perovskites; Precursors; Reclamation; Solid wastes
• ISSN: 2050-7488; 2050-7496
• DOI: 10.1039/D4TA02968B

The recovery of valuable metals from spent ternary lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) has recently garnered significant attention due to the imperatives of the circular economy and environmental management. While the reclamation of lithium is generally straightforward, the hydrometallurgical methods most frequently employed for leaching and separating the remaining nickel, cobalt, and manganese from spent electrode material often yield secondary liquid and solid wastes. In this study, we present a mechanochemical strategy aimed at repurposing lithium-removed spent ternary LIBs cathode material as a precursor for perovskite oxides through a straightforward and scalable solid-state high-energy ball-milling synthesis. By optimizing the synthesis procedure, we have obtained a perovskite catalyst composed of LaNi 0.6 Co 0.2 Mn 0.2 O 3 with a trace amount of phase-separated surface NiO nanocrystals. This catalyst demonstrates outstanding performance in the low-temperature oxidation of CO, exhibiting no degradation in performance over extended periods of service. Notably, it achieves a T 50 of 162 °C and a T 90 of 197 °C, which compares favorably with previously reported perovskite catalysts prepared via wet synthesis, utilizing fine chemicals as precursors. This approach not only presents a novel method for valorizing spent ternary LIBs but also expands the repertoire of metal precursors available for oxidation catalysts.