Synthesis of Diverse LiNi x Mn y Co z O2 Cathode Materials from Lithium Ion Battery Recovery Stream

Currently, a large amount of spent lithium ion batteries is being landfilled in many countries every year; in order to recover and reuse critical materials, a low-cost and a high-efficiency lithium ion battery recovery process was developed at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. This process recovers valuable metal elements such as Ni, Mn, Co in the form of LiNixMnyCozO2 cathode materials, where x, y, and z can be tailored. Other elements such as Cu and steel are also recovered. In this work, it was confirmed that high performance Ni1/3Mn1/3Co1/3(OH)2, Ni0.5Mn0.3Co0.2(OH)2, Ni0.6Mn0.2Co0.2(OH)2 precursors and LiNi1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2, LiNi0.5Mn0.3Co0.2O2, LiNi0.6Mn0.2Co0.2O2 cathode materials can be synthesized from the leaching solutions of a lithium ion battery recovery stream. The precursors and cathodes were synthesized from a co-precipitation process and a solid-state sintering process, respectively. Electrochemical tests results demonstrated that all cathode materials synthesized from spent lithium ion battery recovery streams performed at a discharge capacity higher than 155 mAh/g at first cycle of 0.1C, and after 100 cycles at 0.5C, with over 80 % of the capacity retained.