Universal and efficient extraction of lithium for lithium-ion battery recycling using mechanochemistry

Abstract

While lithium-ion batteries are omnipresent, lithium recycling from end-of-life batteries and production scrap remains costly and environmentally concerning. Here, the authors report the mechanochemically induced acid-free recycling of lithium from cathode materials such as LiCoO2, LiMn2O4, Li(CoNiMn)O2, and LiFePO4 and mixtures thereof with a recovery rate of up to 70%.