Rapid adoption of lithium‐ion batteries for electronics and electric vehicles requires cost‐effective and efficient recycling of battery components especially the valuable cathode active materials. The direct recycling method transforms end‐of‐life (EOL) cathode materials into battery grade materials with minimal energy consumption and least environmental disruption. In direct recycling, the relithiation step to restore the lithium stoichiometry of the cathode materials is critical. In this work, a novel electrochemical relithiation approach in an aqueous electrolyte followed by a heat treatment for recycling cathode materials in EOL lithium‐ion batteries is demonstrated and analyzed. Using LiCoO₂ as an example, it is shown that the recycled LiCoO₂ materials show equivalent crystal structure, morphology, and electrochemical performance to the commercial LiCoO₂.

中文翻译：

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一种有效的锂离子电池正极材料回收工艺

电子和电动汽车迅速采用锂离子电池需要经济高效地回收电池组件，尤其是有价值的正极活性物质。直接回收利用方法将报废（EOL）阴极材料转换为电池级材料，从而将能耗降至最低，并将对环境的破坏降至最低。在直接再循环中，恢复阴极材料的锂化学计量的再锂化步骤至关重要。在这项工作中，演示并分析了一种在水性电解质中进行电化学再结晶的新方法，然后进行了热处理以回收EOL锂离子电池中的正极材料。以LiCoO ₂为例，表明回收的LiCoO ₂材料显示出与商用LiCoO ₂相同的晶体结构，形态和电化学性能。