A Rapid Microplasma Electrochemical Method for Spent Li-Ion Battery Cathode Recycling Under Ambient Condition

As the eruption of the lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) market will result in the generation of an unprecedented volume of end-of-life LIBs, the development of a LIBs recycling process is necessary for sustainable critical metal utilization and minimizing the negative environmental impacts. Here, a green and highly efficient LIBs recycling method was developed to recycle critical metals from cathode materials at room temperature by combining microplasma electrochemistry and deep eutectic solvent (MIPEC-DES). The MIPEC-DES method generates radicals to promote metal leaching with greatly enhanced dissolution kinetics. For lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) cathode materials, the MIPEC-DES method has shown a leaching efficiency as high as 100% for lithium and 91.4% for cobalt within 180 min, which is dramatically enhanced compared to electrochemical leaching and pure DES chemical leaching. Consequently, the MIPEC-DES method resulted in a 400-fold energy saving compared to the DES chemical leaching at 220 degrees C, with the same leaching efficiency. This MIPEC-DES strategy also showed universal applicability for metal recovery from lithium manganese oxide (LMO), lithium iron phosphate (LFP), lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC), and NMC black mass. The economic and environmental impacts of the MIPEC-DES process make it a green and economically attractive method for end-of-life LIBs processing.