Reuse of LiCoO2 Electrodes Collected from Spent Li-Ion Batteries after Electrochemical Re-Lithiation of the Electrode

Katja Lahtinen; Eeva-Leena Rautama; Hua Jiang; Samuli Räsänen; Tanja Kallio

doi:10.1002/cssc.202100629

Reuse of LiCoO₂ Electrodes Collected from Spent Li-Ion Batteries after Electrochemical Re-Lithiation of the Electrode

ChemSusChem. 2021 Jun 8;14(11):2434-2444. doi: 10.1002/cssc.202100629. Epub 2021 May 6.

Authors

Katja Lahtinen¹, Eeva-Leena Rautama¹, Hua Jiang², Samuli Räsänen³, Tanja Kallio¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry and Materials Science, School of Chemical Engineering, Aalto University, P.O. Box 16100, 00076, Aalto, Finland.
² Department of Applied Physics, School of Science, Aalto University, P.O. Box 15100, 0076, Aalto, Finland.
³ Umicore Finland, B.O. Box 286, 67101, Kokkola, Finland.

Abstract

The recycling of used Li-ion batteries is important as the consumption of batteries is increasing every year. However, the recycling of electrode materials is tedious and energy intensive with current methods, and part of the material is lost in the process. In this study, an alternative recycling method is presented to minimize the number of steps needed in the positive electrode recovery process. The electrochemical performance of aged and re-lithiated Mg-Ti-doped LiCoO₂ and stoichiometric LiCoO₂ was investigated and compared. The results showed that after re-lithiation the structure of original LiCoO₂ was restored, the capacity of an aged LiCoO₂ reverted close to the capacity of a fresh LiCoO₂ , and the material could thus be recovered. The re-lithiated Mg-Ti-doped LiCoO₂ provided rate capability properties only slightly declined from the rate capability of a fresh material and showed promising cyclability in half-cells.

Keywords: Doping; energy conversion; lithiation; lithium-ion batteries; renewable resources.

Abstract

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