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The global use of lithium-ion batteries has doubled in just the past four years, generating alarming amounts of battery waste containing many hazardous substances. The need for effective recycling methods for spent lithium-ion batteries is becoming increasingly critical. In the journal ChemElectroChem, scientists from various Polish research institutions have presented a promising solution to this issue.

The research was based on carbon material extracted from electrodes of spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). These electrodes underwent an acidic leaching process to recover valuable metals. Depending on the experimental conditions, the resulting carbon material was more or less etched and, after being powdered, still contained trace amounts of metals, including cobalt—which is a metal often used in catalysis. The research aimed to repurpose these battery materials for use in catalytic processes, with a particular focus on those that facilitate the production of hydrogen peroxide.

Electrochemical tests revealed that materials recovered from spent LIB batteries, containing carbon nanostructures and cobalt, display catalytic properties in the oxygen reduction reaction. However, it was also found that these properties are highly dependent on the type of sample, specifically its composition and structure, which are largely influenced by the composition of the etching baths used to clean the electrodes extracted from lithium-ion batteries.

"For potential future applications, the crucial finding is that, based on data gathered from experiments using a rotating electrode, we were able to determine the number of electrons involved in the reduction of a single oxygen molecule. The electrochemical reduction of oxygen can occur with either four or two electrons. In the case of four electrons, water is produced, but with two electrons, we obtain the desired hydrogen peroxide. In all the samples we tested, we observed the two-electron reduction," explains Dr. Warczak.

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