All-in-All: Dead Lithium-Ion Battery to Active Lithium-Ion Capacitor

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Sustainable Energy Storage

Background:

• Hybrid capacitors, like lithium-ion capacitors (LICs), are crucial for advancing electrochemical energy storage.
• LICs offer a promising solution by combining high energy and power densities through hybrid electrodes.
• Recycling spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) presents an opportunity for sustainable material sourcing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop high-performance LICs using recycled components from spent LIBs.
• To demonstrate the feasibility of upcycling LIB materials for advanced energy storage devices.
• To evaluate the electrochemical performance and durability of the fabricated LICs.

Main Methods:

• Recycling graphite, copper foil, and polypropylene separators from spent LIBs.
• Fabricating a LIC anode using recovered graphite (RG) on recovered copper foil.
• Synthesizing a reduced graphene oxide (rGO) cathode from RG and assembling the LIC device.

Main Results:

• The RG anode achieved a specific capacity of 302 mAh/g with >99% coulombic efficiency over 75 cycles.
• The Li/rGO cathode demonstrated stable cycling performance for over 1000 cycles.
• The final rGO/p-RG LIC delivered 185 Wh/kg energy density and >10,000 cycles durability, performing well across various temperatures.

Conclusions:

• Spent LIBs can be effectively upcycled to create high-performance LICs, promoting a circular economy in energy storage.
• The developed LICs exhibit excellent energy density, power, and exceptional long-term cycling stability.
• This approach offers a sustainable pathway for next-generation energy storage solutions.