Development of Plasmonic Attapulgite/CoOx Nanocomposite Using Spent Batteries toward Photothermal Reduction of CO[sub.2]

The rapid development of the battery industry has brought about a large amount of waste battery pollution. How to realize the high-value utilization of waste batteries is an urgent problem to be solved. Herein, cobalt and titanium compounds (LTCO) were firstly recovered from spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) using the carbon thermal reduction approach, and plasmonic attapulgite/Co(Ti)Ox (H-ATP/Co(Ti)Ox) nanocomposites were prepared by the microwave hydrothermal technique. H-ATP had a large specific surface area and enough active sites to capture CO[sub.2] molecules. The biochar not only reduced the spinel phase of waste LIBs into metal oxides including Co[sub.3]O[sub.4] and TiO[sub.2] but also increased the separation and transmission of the carriers, thereby accelerating the adsorption and reduction of CO[sub.2]. In addition, H-ATP/Co(Ti)Ox exhibited a localized surface plasmon resonance effect (LSPR) in the visible to near-infrared region and released high-energy hot electrons, enhancing the surface temperature of the catalyst and further improving the catalytic reduction of CO[sub.2] with a high CO yield of 14.7 μmol·g[sup.−1]·h[sup.−1]. The current work demonstrates the potential for CO[sub.2] reduction by taking advantage of natural mineral and spent batteries.