Electric field driven de-lithiation: A strategy towards comprehensive and efficient recycling of electrode materials from spent lithium ion batteries

Along with the rapidly growing market of lithium-ion batteries, exploration of efficient strategies to recycle the retired lithium-ion batteries has become an imminent issue. Herein, a green and comprehensive recycling method based on the direct current (DC) electric field driven de-lithiation is developed and the feasibility of the strategy is systematically investigated. The results demonstrate that during the recycling process, the lithium ions can be effectively recovered with simultaneous H2 production. Meanwhile, the de-lithiated electrode materials exhibit a remarkable electrocatalytic activity, which is proved to be related to their high specific surface area as well as their large amount of lattice oxygen. Based on the Daedalian combination of efficient lithium recycling and applications of the de-lithiated cathode materials for oxygen evolution reaction, this study provides an effective strategy for recycling and making maximum use of the spent lithium-ion battery electrode materials based on the DC electric field driven de-lithiation process.