Comparative analysis of internal and external characteristics of lead-acid battery and lithium-ion battery systems based on composite flow analysis

Highly dispersed Ir/Fe nanoparticles anchored at nitrogen-doped activated pyrolytic carbon black as a high-performance OER catalyst for lead recovery

The use of a methanesulfonic acid (MSA) electrolytic system is recommended as a green method for hydrometallurgical recovery of metallic Pb from waste lead-acid batteries (LABs), contributing to the sustainable protection of the ecosystem. Nevertheless, the system's high energy consumption is a current issue due to the substantial overpotential of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and competitive anodic oxidation of Pb2+. Herein, we propose an IrFe/nitrogen-doped pyrolytic carbon black (IrFe/NCBp) composite as a novel OER catalyst for the MSA electrolytic system, which demonstrates advanced OER catalytic efficiency and selectivity for H2O oxidation. This can be ascribed to the catalyst's thoughtful design, which enhances the number and uniformity of Ir and Fe species via increasing the specific surface area and employing NCBp as a sustainable substrate. The optimized IrFe/NCBp composite exhibits superior OER performance, with a low 252 mV@10 mA cm-2 overpotential and a 62 mV dec-1 Tafel slope, and excellent durability in a 1 M MSA electrolyte for 30 h operation compared to commercial Ir/C. In contrast to carbon paper (CP) and commercial Ir/C anodes, the anodic reaction of IrFe/NCBp is primarily OER-driven (97%) in 1 M MSA and 0.2 M Pb2+ electrolyte for Pb recovery. This effectively circumvents the high potential oxidation of Pb2+ into PbO2, reducing the electrolytic voltage to 488 kWh for the recovery of 1 ton Pb metal. This work provides a green, low-carbon footprint solution for the MSA electrolytic system, thereby promoting the commercialization of the hydrometallurgical Pb recovery.

Enhanced cycle life of starter lighting ignition (SLI) type lead-acid batteries with electrolyte modified by ionic liquid

The aim of the presented work was to improve the lifetime of lead-acid SLI (starting, lighting and ignition) batteries through electrolyte modification with ionic liquids. The conducted research included the synthesis and determination of the influence of di(hexadecyldimethylammonium) and di(octadecyldimethylammonium) sulphates on the basic parameters (capacity, cranking performance) of the starter battery as well as parameters affecting its lifetime (dynamic charge acceptance, corrosion, water consumption). It has been shown that the addition of these compounds increases corrosion resistance and reduces water consumption, resulting in an increase in cyclic durability by up to 36%. The improvement is associated with the absorption of ionic liquid molecules into the mass of lead(ii) sulphate, which was confirmed by physicochemical and electrochemical studies.

Critical strategies for recycling process of graphite from spent lithium-ion batteries: A review

With the explosive growth of spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), the effective recycling of graphite as a key negative electrode material has become economically attractive and environmentally significant. This review reports the recent research progress in recycling strategies for spent graphite from the perspectives of separation and reuse. First, technologies for separating graphite powder after direct crushing and artificially splitting are introduced, and the shortcomings of cost control and separation efficiency are reported. Subsequently, the reuse of recycled spent graphite is systematically summarized in terms of regeneration into battery materials, low-value utilization, and high-value conversion. Special attention has been paid to different aging degrees of retired batteries, as well as the performance and applications of regenerated graphite. Finally, upcoming research efforts on evaluation the standard establishment, development of advanced technology, and potential value enhancement to meet practical the industrial conditions and facilitate industry installation are proposed.

Diverse-shaped tin dioxide nanoparticles within a plastic waste-derived three-dimensional porous carbon framework for super stable lithium-ion storage

Tin dioxides (SnO₂) inserted into carbons to serve as anodes for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries are known to improve their cycling stability. However, studies on diverse-shaped SnO₂ nanoparticles within a porous carbon matrix for super stable lithium-ion storage are rare. Herein, a hollow carbon sphere/porous carbon flake (HCS/PCF) framework is fabricated through template carbonization of plastic waste. By changing the doping mechanism and tuning the loading content, nano SnO₂ spheres and cubes as well as bulk SnO₂ flakes and blocks are in-situ grown within the HCS/PCF. Then, the as-prepared hybrids with built-in various morphological SnO₂ nanoparticles serve as anodes towards advanced lithium-ion batteries. Notably, HCS/PCF embedded with nano SnO₂ spheres and cubes anodes possess superb long-term cycling stability (~0.048% and ~0.05% average capacitance decay per cycle at 1 A/g over 400 cycles) with high reversible specific capacities of 0.45 and 0.498 Ah/g after 1000 cycles at 5 A/g. The ultra-stabilized Li⁺ storage is attributed to the effective mitigation of nano SnO₂ spheres/cubes volume expansion, originating from the compact SnO₂ yolk-HCS/PCF shell construction. This study paves a general strategy for disposing of polymeric waste to produce SnO₂ core-carbon shell anodes for super stable lithium-ion storage.

Mechanism orienting structure construction of electrodes for aqueous electrochemical energy storage systems: a review

Aqueous electrochemical energy storage systems (AEESS) are considered as the most promising energy storage devices for large-scale energy storage. AEESSs, including batteries and supercapacitors, have received extensive attention due to their low cost, eco-friendliness, and high safety. However, the insufficient energy densities of the state-of-the-art AEESSs limit their practical applications which are mainly dominated by the electrochemical performances of individual electrode materials. Understanding the underlying relationship between structures, reaction mechanisms, and performances can further lead to the design and optimization of structures of the electrodes instructively, thereby harvesting favorable performances. This review classified the intrinsic logic of structure-mechanism-performance by taking some prevailing mechanisms with some classical structures of materials as examples. Moreover, some problem-oriented structural engineering strategies are proposed aiming to optimize their performance. Finally, comprehensive structural design engineering and some suggestions for fine modifications of electrode materials at the atomic and molecular levels are proposed to combine the advantages of supercapacitor- and battery-type materials for designing excellent electrode materials for AEESSs.

An overview of the current status and prospects of cathode materials based on transition metal sulfides for magnesium-ion batteries

TMSs as cathode materials used in MIBs.