Efficient selective leaching and direct regeneration of spent Ni-rich cathodes via advanced oxidation

In recent years, the hydrometallurgical recycling of spent lithium nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) is always involved the complete leaching of metals followed by individual separation, resulting in a low overall recovery efficiency of lithium. Herein, the selective leaching of lithium from spent NCM using advanced oxidant ammonium persulfate (NH4)2S2O8, followed by its recovery and reuse, is investigated in this work. Through optimization of leaching conditions, the leaching efficiency and the selectivity of lithium achieve 100 % and 98.26 %, respectively, resulting in the recovery of lithium carbonate Li2CO3. The recovered Li2CO3 is combined with the selective leaching residue to synthesize regenerated NCM via high-temperature solid-phase synthesis. Electrochemical performance tests demonstrate that the regenerated NCM materials exhibit excellent charge-discharge characteristics and cycling stability, validating the feasibility and effectiveness of this recycling process. This research provides a theoretical foundation for short-process, full-quantity recovery of spent NCM battery cathode materials, offering significant environmental and economic benefits.