Directly upgrading spent graphite anodes to stable CuO/C anodes by utilizing inherent Cu impurities from spent lithium-ion batteries

Reusing spent anodes is a pivotal step for recycling lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, it proves challenging to completely eliminate Cu impurities from spent graphite (SG), which hinders the effective recycling of spent anodes. In this paper, a straightforward air oxidation method is proposed t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Green chemistry : an international journal and green chemistry resource : GC 2024, Vol.26 (11), p.6634-6642
Main Authors: Chen, Kechun, Yu, Haoxuan, Huang, Meiting, Wang, Zhihao, Li, Yifeng, Zhou, Lei, Yang, Liming, Feng, Yufa, Chen, Liang, Wang, Lihua, Wang, Longlu, Xu, Chenxi, Shao, Penghui, Luo, Xubiao
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anodes
Batteries
Copper oxides
Emissions
Energy consumption
Graphite
Greenhouse gases
Impurities
Lithium
Lithium-ion batteries
Nanoparticles
Oxidation
Oxidation process
Rechargeable batteries
Recycling
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Summary:Reusing spent anodes is a pivotal step for recycling lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, it proves challenging to completely eliminate Cu impurities from spent graphite (SG), which hinders the effective recycling of spent anodes. In this paper, a straightforward air oxidation method is proposed to directly upgrade spent anodes into stable CuO/C anodes by harnessing the inherent Cu impurities in spent anodes. The air oxidation process not only repairs the SG to some extent but also generates uniformly dispersed CuO nanoparticles, which chemically bind with the repaired graphite (RG) through Cu-O-C bonds. The specific discharge capacity of the CuO/RG anode can reach as high as 647 mA h g −1 even after 500 cycles (at 372 mA g −1 ). In addition, this program is found to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions by ∼80% compared to previously reported CuO/C production programs. Clearly, this approach provides a new direction for large-scale recycling of spent LIBs and low-cost production of high-performance CuO/C anodes. A straightforward air oxidation strategy was developed to concurrently convert the SG and Cu foil in the anode side to a CuO/RG hybrid, which provides a valuable guidance on the low-cost and large-scale recycling of spent LIBs.
ISSN:1463-9262
1463-9270
DOI:10.1039/d4gc00688g