Qiu Baolong, Liu Mengjie, Qu Xin, Zhou Fengying, Xie Hongwei, Wang Dihua, Lee Lawrence Yoon Suk, Yin Huayi
Key Laboratory for Ecological Metallurgy of Multimetallic Mineral of Ministry of Education, School of Metallurgy, Northeastern University, Shenyang, 110819, P. R. China.
Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology and Research Institute for Smart Energy, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Nat Commun. 2024 Aug 1;15(1):6473. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-50679-1.
The disposal and management of waste lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and low-density polyethylene (LDPE) plastics pose significant environmental challenges. Here we show a synergistic pyrolysis approach that employs spent lithium transition metal oxides and waste LDPE plastics in one sealed reactor to achieve the separation of Li and transition metal. Additionally, we demonstrate the preparation of nanoscale NiCo alloy@carbon nanotubes (CNTs) through co-pyrolysis of LiNiCoMnO and LDPE. The NiCo alloy@CNTs exhibits excellent catalytic activity (E = 0.85 V) and the selectivity (90%) for HO production through the electrochemical reduction of oxygen. This can be attributed to the NiCo nanoalloy core and the presence of CNTs with abundant oxygen-containing functional groups (e.g., -COOH and C-O-C), as confirmed by density function theory calculations. Overall, this work presents a straightforward and green approach for valorizing and upcycling various waste LIBs and LDPE plastics.
废弃锂离子电池（LIBs）和低密度聚乙烯（LDPE）塑料的处理与管理带来了重大的环境挑战。在此，我们展示了一种协同热解方法，该方法在一个密封反应器中使用废旧锂过渡金属氧化物和废弃LDPE塑料，以实现锂和过渡金属的分离。此外，我们还展示了通过LiNiCoMnO和LDPE的共热解制备纳米级NiCo合金@碳纳米管（CNTs）。NiCo合金@CNTs通过氧的电化学还原表现出优异的催化活性（E = 0.85 V）和对HO生成的选择性（90%）。这可归因于NiCo纳米合金核以及具有丰富含氧官能团（如 -COOH和C-O-C）的CNTs的存在，这已通过密度泛函理论计算得到证实。总体而言，这项工作提出了一种直接且绿色的方法，用于各种废弃LIBs和LDPE塑料的增值和升级回收。
