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The presence of fluoride in the leaching solution of spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) can harm product purity and the environment and potentially lead to the corrosion of recycling equipment. However, the development of fluoride adsorbents face challenges due to their limited adsorption capacity. Herein, flaky porous Ce–La oxides adsorbent with high metal content, synthesized using ammonia as a complexing and precipitating agent in a continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR), are employed for fluoride removal. The maximum adsorption capacity of the Ce–La oxides adsorbent reaches up to 662.25 mg/g, greatly exceeding that of other reported adsorbents. Furthermore, the adsorbtent can be easily regenerated through desorption in NaOH solution in 0.5 h, with only an 8.4% decrease in adsorption capacity after four cycles. The F–concentration in the leaching solution of spent LiNixCoyMn1–x–yO2(NCM)-based batteries can be reduced from 336.5 to 0.6 mg/L by the Ce–La oxides adsorbent, meeting the requirements for the production of battery grade Ni/Co/Mn sulfate solution. These results demonstrate that Ce–La oxides adsorbent with superior fluoride adsorption performance can be produced via a straightforward method that is suitable for large-scale production.

In recent years, the large consumption of lithium-ion batteries (LiBs) has caused resource waste and environmental pollution. It is crucial to recycle and reuse LiBs, especially the valuable elements from the spent LiBs. In this research, a new, sustainable, and easy-to-implement process for the recycling of spent LiFePO4cathode powder is proposed. 732 cation exchange resin is used as a leaching agent and an adsorbent to leach and adsorb Li and Fe from the spent LiFePO4powder. The effects of various parameters, such as the cathode scrap-to-resin ratio (1/9), time (35 min), water addition (30 mL), and reaction temperature (30 °C), on the resin leaching and adsorption of the waste LiFePO4cathode powder have been investigated. The effect of acid concentration on the elution rate during resin elution and experiments on the recyclability of the resin has been carried out as well. The results indicate that it is technically and economically feasible and environmentally friendly to use the 732 cation exchange resin to recover the waste LiFePO4cathode powder. Products including high-purity Li2CO3(99.95%), Fe2O3, and high-purity phosphoric acid can be obtained based on this process, through which a full component recovery with a high recovery rate was achieved. We investigated the reaction of kinetic analysis and also explored the effect of reaction conditions on the reaction. In contrast to previous studies on spent LiFePO4cathode powder, our approach is promising and is analyzed as follows: (1) the 732 cation exchange resin has a dual role in the recycling process of used LiFePO4cathode powder (leaching-adsorption) in the used LiFePO4cathode powder recycling process. (2) The separation of the valued metals and the phosphoric acid can be achieved in one step using the 732 cation exchange resin.

The tremendous consumption of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) raises concern about sustainable resources especially for the valuable metals. Recycling valuable metals from spent LIBs is expected to meet the demand growth of LIBs. Herein, a novel approach combined with oxalic acid leaching, calcination relithiation, and annealing is proposed to regenerate spent LiNi0.5Co0.2Mn0.3O2(NCM523) cathodes. This approach can reduce the recycling cost, accompanied with small energy consumption. Moreover, almost 98% of the valuable metals (Ni, Co, Mn) can be directly regenerated. The regenerated NCM523 cathode exhibits an initial capacity of 146.1 mAh g–1, with ∼85% capacity retention after 100 cycles. This work not only provides an efficient and simple method for recycling spent cathodes but also gives a new perspective of sustainable manufacturing of energy materials.

Silicon anode has a huge potential to replace graphite anode. Nevertheless, it shows poor long-term cyclic stability and rate capability due to a huge volume change upon lithiation and intrinsic semiconductor property. In this manuscript, a silicon composite with nonagglomerated super-small sized copper nanoparticles (average diameter: 7 nm) was obtained. First, the super-small copper nanoparticles (NPs) are beneficial to enhance the electron conductivity and electrochemical kinetics. Second, the copper NPs help to stabilize the electrode by absorbing mechanical stress. An amine based curing agent works as not only the solvent but also the carbon precursor. The thermosetting epoxy resin inhibits the agglomeration of the copper and silicon nanoparticles. Both silicon and copper nanoparticles are homogeneously dispersed in the carbon formed during the calcination under an inert atmosphere. The influence of the silicon and copper contents on the composition, structure, morphology, crystallinity, porosity, dispersion, and electrochemical performance of the Si/Cu/C nanohybrids are thoroughly studied by various techniques. The structure–property correlation of Si/Cu/C nanohybrids is investigated. A good balance among capacity, cyclic stability, and rate performance is achieved.