A Green Chemical Protocol for Separation of Spent LiFePO4 Cathode Material from Al Foil and Regeneration

Abstract

Recovery and reuse of electrode materials from spent lithium-ion batteries are crucial for the sustainable development of the lithium-ion battery industry. In this study, we describe an aqueous solution based protocol for separating LiFePO4 cathode material from Al foil (current collector) of spent lithium-ion batteries and regenerating it. The LiFePO4 cathode material and the Al foil separate effectively each other by immersing the spent electrode in pure water at room temperature.The recovered Al foil remains intact metallic sate. The as-separated LiFePO 4 suffers from lithium loss, ~33%, and accompanying capacity fading. After a lower-temperature and aqueous based relithiation, the regenerated LiFePO 4 exhibits electrochemical performances comparable to the commercial one, delivering an initial charging capacity of 162 mAh g⁻¹ at 0.1 C, a charging capability of 118.5 mAh g⁻¹ at 5 C, and 89.3% capacity retention after 500 cycles at 1 C. The facile separation and regeneration strategy blazes a sustainable and economic approach for the recovery of spent LiFePO 4 .