Chemical and Mineralogical Characterizations of Cobalt Precursor Recovered from Spent Lithium-Ion Batteries with Incineration Process

Abstract

The chemical and mineralogical characterizations of cobalt precursor recovered from spent lithium-ion batteries with incineration process was analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). It indicates that Co exists in the form of LiCoO2. However, after thermal treatment, complex products including LiCoO2, Co3O4, and Co2AlO4 etc. generated, in which Co3O4 has strong signal. The XPS spectra shows that Li(1-x)CoO2 and LiCoO2 are the main chemical state of Co in the original sample, but after thermal treatment, the chemical state changes to Co3O4. Besides, there are undecomposed Li(1-x)CoO2, CoF3 and Co. Analyses indicate that Co is enriched after thermal treatment and chemical state of some Co have been certified.