Lithium-Ion Battery Cathode Recycling through a Closed-Loop Process Using a Choline Chloride-Ethylene Glycol-Based Deep-Eutectic Solvent in the Presence of Acid.

This study evaluates the ability of a choline chloride:ethylene glycol-based deep eutectic solvent (DES) to dissolve lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) which is used as a cathode active material in Li-ion batteries. Both a commercial powder and spent cathodes have been used. It was demonstrated that if HCl is added in a small proportion, a rapid and efficient LCO dissolution can be achieved.