Co-upcycling spent lithium-ion batteries and plastics into microwave absorbing materials with Ni-Co catalyst control.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 41698917.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-026-69501-1 and PMC identifier 13022301.
- Licence recorded as CC BY-NC-ND.
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Abstract
Co-upcycling plastics with lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) into carbon nanotubes (CNTs) offers a promising high-value approach; however, it is hindered by the challenge of poisoning metal catalysts by carbon deposition and the uncontrollable particle growth. Here, we propose a co-upcycling strategy to convert spent LiNi<sub>x</sub>Co<sub>y</sub>Mn<sub>1-x-y</sub>O<sub>2</sub> (NCM) and binary plastics-polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and other plastics-into NiCoMnO<sub>x</sub>/CNTs composites (or materials) for microwave absorption. During the pyrolysis, the generated pyrolysis gas reduces the NCM to NiCoMnO<sub>x</sub> and Li<sub>2</sub>CO<sub>3</sub>, and the NiCoMnO<sub>x</sub> catalyzes the decomposition of pyrolysis gas to generate CNTs. Importantly, Li<sub>2</sub>CO<sub>3</sub> suppresses the growth of NiCo particles to below 100 nm and PET as both an etching agent and a carbon source, achieving a carbon conversion rate of 33% while preventing NiCoMnO<sub>x</sub> poisoning. After heat treatment at 800 °C, the resulting material exhibits favorable microwave absorption with an effective absorption bandwidth (EAB, RL <-10 dB) of 7.01 GHz at 2.41 mm. Life cycle analysis (LCA) shows that this strategy has obvious environmental benefits. Overall, PET is a general enabler to prepare (Ni<sub>x</sub>Co<sub>y</sub>)MnO/CNTs microwave-absorbing materials harnessing carbon from binary plastics and critical metals from battery materials, providing a sustainable solution for upcycling spent LIBs and plastic wastes.