Influence of pH and Chloride Concentration on the Corrosion Behavior of Unalloyed Copper in NaCl Solution: A Comparative Study Between the Micro and Macro Scales

Optimized purification methods for metallic contaminant removal from directly recycled Li-ion battery cathodes

Metallic contaminants pose a significant challenge to the viability of directly recycling Li-ion batteries. To date, few strategies exist to selectively remove metallic impurities from mixtures of shredded end-of-life material (black mass; BM) without concurrently damaging the structure and electrochemical performance of the target active material. We herein present tailored methods to selectively ionize two major contaminants-Al and Cu-while retaining a representative cathode (LiNi_0.33Mn_0.33Co_0.33O₂; NMC-111) intact. This BM purification process is conducted at moderate temperatures in a KOH-based solution matrix. We rationally evaluate approaches to increase both the kinetic corrosion rate and the thermodynamic solubility of Al⁰ and Cu⁰, and evaluate the impact of these treatment conditions on the structure, chemistry, and electrochemical performance of NMC. Specifically, we explore the impacts of chloride-based salts, a strong chelating agent, elevated temperature, and sonication on the rate and extent of contaminant corrosion, while concurrently evaluating the effects on NMC. The reported BM purification process is then demonstrated on samples of "simulated BM" containing a practically relevant 1 wt% concentration of Al or Cu. Increasing the kinetic energy of the purifying solution matrix through elevated temperature and sonication accelerates the corrosion of metallic Al and Cu, such that ∼100% corrosion of 75 μm Al and Cu particles is achieved within 2.5 hr. Further, we determine that effective mass transport of ionized species critically impacts the efficacy of Cu corrosion, and that saturated Cl^- hinders rather than accelerates Cu corrosion by increasing solution viscosity and introducing competitive pathways for Cu surface passivation. The purification conditions do not induce bulk structural damage to NMC, and electrochemical capacity is maintained in half-cell format. Testing in full cells suggests that a limited quantity of residual surface species are present after treatment, which initially disrupt electrochemical behavior at the graphite anode but are subsequently consumed. Process demonstration on simulated BM suggests that contaminated samples-which prior to treatment show catastrophic electrochemical performance-can be recovered to pristine electrochemical capacity. The reported BM purification method offers a compelling and commercially viable solution to address contamination, particularly in the "fine" fraction of BM where contaminant sizes are on the same order of magnitude as NMC and where traditional separation approaches are unfeasible. Thus, this optimized BM purification technique offers a pathway towards viable direct recycling of BM feedstocks that would otherwise be unusable.

Discharge of lithium-ion batteries in salt solutions for safer storage, transport, and resource recovery

The use of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) has grown in recent years, making them a promising source of secondary raw materials due to their rich composition of valuable materials, such as Cobalt and Nickel. Recycling LIBs can help reduce fossil energy consumption, CO₂ emissions, environmental pollution, and consumption of valuable materials with limited supplies. On the other hand, the hazards associated with spent LIBs recycling are mainly due to fires and explosions caused by unwanted short-circuiting. The high voltage and reactive components of end-of-life LIBs pose safety hazards during mechanical processing and crushing stages, as well as during storage and transportation. Electrochemical discharge using salt solutions is a simple, quick, and inexpensive way to eliminate such hazards. In this paper, three different salts (NaCl, Na₂S, and MgSO₄) from 12% to 20% concentration are investigated as possible candidates. The effectiveness of discharge was shown to be a function of molarity rather than ionic strength of the solution. Experiments also showed that the use of ultrasonic waves can dramatically improve the discharge process and reduce the required time more than 10-fold. This means that the drainage time was reduced from nearly 1 day to under 100 minutes. Finally, a practical setup in which the tips of the batteries are directly immersed inside the salt solution is proposed. This creative configuration can fully discharge the batteries in less than 5 minutes. Due to the fast discharge rates in this configuration, sedimentation and corrosion are also almost entirely avoided.

Facing Seawater Splitting Challenges by Regeneration with Ni-Mo-Fe Bifunctional Electrocatalyst for Hydrogen and Oxygen Evolution

Hydrogen, produced by water splitting, has been proposed as one of the main green energy vectors of the future if produced from renewable energy sources. However, to substitute fossil fuels, large amounts of pure water are necessary, scarce in many world regions. In this work, we fabricate efficient and earth-abundant electrodes, study the challenges of using real seawater, and propose an electrode regeneration method to face undesired salt deposition. Ni-Mo-Fe trimetallic electrocatalyst is deposited on non-expensive graphitic carbon felts both for hydrogen (HER) and oxygen evolution reactions (OER) in seawater and alkaline seawater. Cl^- pitting and the chlorine oxidation reaction are suppressed on these substrates and alkalinized electrolyte. Precipitations on the electrodes, mainly CaCO₃ , originating from seawater-dissolved components have been studied, and a simple regeneration technique is proposed to rapidly dissolve undesired deposited CaCO₃ in acidified seawater. Under alkaline conditions, Ni-Mo-Fe-based catalyst is found to reconfigure, under cathodic bias, into Ni-Mo-Fe alloy with a cubic crystalline structure and Ni : Fe(OH)₂ redeposits whereas, under anodic bias, it is transformed into a follicular Ni:FeOOH structure. High productivities over 300 mA cm^-2 and voltages down to 1.59 V@10 mA cm^-2 for the overall water splitting reaction have been shown, and electrodes are found stable for over 24 h without decay in alkaline seawater conditions and with energy efficiency higher than 61.5 % which makes seawater splitting promising and economically feasible.

Resolving the Geometry/Charge Puzzle of the c(2 × 2)-Cl Cu(100) Electrode

Potential-induced changes in charge and surface structure are significant drivers of the reactivity of electrochemical interfaces but are frequently difficult to decouple from the effects of surface solvation. Here, we consider the Cu(100) surface with a c(2 × 2)-Cl adlayer, a model surface with multiple geometry measurements under both ultrahigh vacuum and electrochemical conditions. Under aqueous electrochemical conditions, the measured Cu-Cl interplanar separation (dCu-Cl) increases by at least 0.3 Å relative to that under ultrahigh vacuum conditions. This large geometry change is unexpected for a hydrophobic surface, and it requires invoking a negative charge on the Cl-covered surface which is much greater than expected from the work function and our capacitance measurements. To resolve this inconsistency we employ ab initio calculations and find that the Cu-Cl separation increases with charging at a rate of 0.7 Å/e- per Cl atom. The larger Cu-Cl bond distance increases the surface dipole and, therefore, the work function of the interface, contributing to the negative charge under fixed potential electrochemical conditions. Interactions with water are not needed to explain either the large charge or large Cu-Cl interplanar spacing of this surface under electrochemical conditions.

Imaging electrochemically synthesized Cu2O cubes and their morphological evolution under conditions relevant to CO2 electroreduction

Copper is a widely studied catalyst material for the electrochemical conversion of carbon dioxide to valuable hydrocarbons. In particular, copper-based nanostructures expressing predominantly {100} facets have shown high selectivity toward ethylene formation, a desired reaction product. However, the stability of such tailored nanostructures under reaction conditions remains poorly understood. Here, using liquid cell transmission electron microscopy, we show the formation of cubic copper oxide particles from copper sulfate solutions during direct electrochemical synthesis and their subsequent morphological evolution in a carbon dioxide-saturated 0.1 M potassium bicarbonate solution under a reductive potential. Shape-selected synthesis of copper oxide cubes was achieved through: (1) the addition of chloride ions and (2) alternating the potentials within a narrow window where the deposited non-cubic particles dissolve, but cubic ones do not. Our results indicate that copper oxide cubes change their morphology rapidly under carbon dioxide electroreduction-relevant conditions, leading to an extensive re-structuring of the working electrode surface.

Catalytic selectivity during carbon dioxide electroreduction can be tuned by using geometric copper-based catalysts. Here, the authors use liquid cell transmission electron microscopy to study the in situ synthesis and morphological evolution Cu₂O cubes under carbon dioxide electroreduction conditions.

Influence of chlorides and phosphates on the antiadhesive, antibacterial, and electrochemical properties of an electroplated copper-silver alloy

Antimicrobial surfaces such as copper alloys can reduce the spread of pathogenic microorganisms, e.g., in healthcare settings; however, the surface chemistry and thus the antibacterial activity are influenced by environmental parameters such as cleaning and disinfection procedures. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to assess how copper-complexing compounds (chlorides and phosphates), common to the clinical environment, can affect the surface chemistry and the antiadhesive and antibacterial properties of a newly developed antibacterial copper-silver alloy and the single alloying metals. The authors demonstrated that the antiadhesion efficacy against S. aureus 8325 was the highest when the copper-silver alloy and copper surfaces (four- and two-log bacterial reduction compared to stainless steel controls, respectively) were exposed to chloride-containing suspensions. This was explained by the electrochemical activity of copper that dissolved as Cu⁺, highly toxic to the bacterial cells, in the presence of Cl^- and eventually formed a chlorine- and oxygen-rich layer with the incorporation of phosphorus, if also phosphates were present. If chlorides were omitted from the wet environment, there was no difference (P > 0.05) in bacterial counts on copper-silver alloy, copper, silver, and AISI 316 stainless steel control surfaces, due to the fact that no oxidizing conditions were established and therefore there was no dissolution of copper ions from copper-silver alloy and copper surfaces. However, under dry conditions, copper-silver alloy and pure copper surfaces were antibacterial also in the absence of chlorides, suggesting a marked difference between dry and wet conditions in terms of the interactions between surfaces and bacteria. The authors conclude that an attentive design of control policies integrating disinfection interventions and antimicrobial surfaces, such as the copper-silver alloy coating, can be a beneficial solution in fighting the spread of antibiotic resistant bacterial strains and potentially reducing the number of disease outbreaks.

Corrosion and Leaching Behaviours of Sn-0.7Cu-0.05Ni Lead-Free Solder in 3.5 wt.% NaCl Solution

The corrosion and leaching behaviour of a new ternary Sn-0.7Cu-0.05Ni alloy in 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution is reported herein. Potentiodynamic polarization measurements show that Sn-0.7Cu-0.05Ni has the highest corrosion rate. Results of the 30-day Sn leaching measurement show that Sn-Cu-Ni joint has slight decrease attributed to the formation of thin passivation film after 15 days. The leaching amounts of Sn are observed to be higher in solder joint than in solder alloy due to the galvanic corrosion happening on the surface. EDS and XRD results of the corroded surface confirm that the corroded product is made up of oxides of tin.

Copper Corrosion and Biocorrosion Events in Premise Plumbing

Corrosion of copper pipes may release high amounts of copper into the water, exceeding the maximum concentration of copper for drinking water standards. Typically, the events with the highest release of copper into drinking water are related to the presence of biofilms. This article reviews this phenomenon, focusing on copper ingestion and its health impacts, the physicochemical mechanisms and the microbial involvement on copper release, the techniques used to describe and understand this phenomenon, and the hydrodynamic effects. A conceptual model is proposed and the mathematical models are reviewed.

Superhydrophobic Copper Surfaces with Anticorrosion Properties Fabricated by Solventless CVD Methods

Due to continuous miniaturization and increasing number of electrical components in electronics, copper interconnections have become critical for the design of 3D integrated circuits. However, corrosion attack on the copper metal can affect the electronic performance of the material. Superhydrophobic coatings are a commonly used strategy to prevent this undesired effect. In this work, a solventless two-steps process was developed to fabricate superhydrophobic copper surfaces using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) methods. The superhydrophobic state was achieved through the design of a hierarchical structure, combining micro-/nanoscale domains. In the first step, O₂- and Ar-plasma etchings were performed on the copper substrate to generate microroughness. Afterward, a conformal copolymer, 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorodecyl acrylate-ethylene glycol diacrylate [p(PFDA-co-EGDA)], was deposited on top of the metal via initiated CVD (iCVD) to lower the surface energy of the surface. The copolymer topography exhibited a very characteristic and unique nanoworm-like structure. The combination of the nanofeatures of the polymer with the microroughness of the copper led to achievement of the superhydrophobic state. AFM, SEM, and XPS were used to characterize the evolution in topography and chemical composition during the CVD processes. The modified copper showed water contact angles as high as 163° and hysteresis as low as 1°. The coating withstood exposure to aggressive media for extended periods of time. Tafel analysis was used to compare the corrosion rates between bare and modified copper. Results indicated that iCVD-coated copper corrodes 3 orders of magnitude slower than untreated copper. The surface modification process yielded repeatable and robust superhydrophobic coatings with remarkable anticorrosion properties.

Accelerated Degradation Test and Predictive Failure Analysis of B10 Copper-Nickel Alloy under Marine Environmental Conditions

This paper studies the corrosion behavior of B10 copper-nickel alloy in marine environment. Accelerated degradation test under marine environmental conditions was designed and performed based on the accelerated testing principle and the corrosion degradation mechanism. With the prolongation of marine corrosion time, the thickness of Cu₂O film increased gradually. Its corrosion product was Cu₂(OH)₃Cl, which increased in quantity over time. Cl⁻ was the major factor responsible for the marine corrosion of copper and copper alloy. Through the nonlinear fitting of corrosion rate and corrosion quantity (corrosion weight loss), degradation data of different corrosion cycles, the quantitative effects of two major factors, i.e., dissolved oxygen (DO) and corrosion medium temperature, on corrosion behavior of copper alloy were analyzed. The corrosion failure prediction models under different ambient conditions were built. One-day corrosion weight loss under oxygenated stirring conditions was equivalent to 1.31-day weight loss under stationary conditions, and the corrosion rate under oxygenated conditions was 1.31 times higher than that under stationary conditions. In addition, corrosion medium temperature had a significant effect on the corrosion of B10 copper sheet.

Enhancement of seawater corrosion resistance in copper using acetone-derived graphene coating

We show that acetone-derived graphene coating can effectively enhance the corrosion efficiency of copper (Cu) in a seawater environment (0.5-0.6 M (∼3.0-3.5%) sodium chloride). By applying a drop of acetone (∼20 μl cm(-2)) on Cu surfaces, rapid thermal annealing allows the facile and rapid synthesis of graphene films on Cu surfaces with a monolayer coverage of almost close to ∼100%. Under optimal growth conditions, acetone-derived graphene is found to have a relatively high crystallinity, comparable to common graphene grown by chemical vapor deposition. The resulting graphene-coated Cu surface exhibits 37.5 times higher corrosion resistance as compared to that of mechanically polished Cu. Further, investigation on the role of graphene coating on Cu surfaces suggests that the outstanding corrosion inhibition efficiency (IE) of 97.4% is obtained by protecting the underlying Cu against the penetration of both dissolved oxygen and chlorine ions, thanks to the closely spaced atomic structure of the graphene sheets. The increase of graphene coating thickness results in the enhancement of the overall corrosion IE up to ∼99%, which can be attributed to the effective blocking of the ionic diffusion process via grain boundaries. Overall, our results suggest that the acetone-derived graphene film can effectively serve as a corrosion-inhibiting coating in the seawater level and that it may have a promising role to play for potential offshore coating.