Synthesis of nickel manganese cobalt precursor from spent catalyst and manganese ore using solid-state method for lithium-ion battery cathode

Abstract

The vital role of catalysts in chemical transformation processes in various industries will affect the amount of spent catalyst waste. Spent catalysts that have undergone catalytic deactivation have become solid waste. This study conducted an experiment to utilise valuable metals from spent catalyst waste. This study successfully reused spent catalysts and extracted manganese ore through leaching and oxalate precipitation to produce Ni, Mn, and Co precursor as raw materials in nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) cathode synthesis of lithium ion batteries. The results of XRF characterisation of leaching and oxalate precipitation products showed a purity of Ni 97.471%, Mn 90.67%, and Co 96.347%. The XRF results as a percentage of precursor content showed that the extraction process of Ni, Mn, and Co precursors, as well as the synthesis of NMC produced NMC products with a mole ratio of 8:1:1 using the solid-state method. The results of all samples showed NMC in accordance with JCPDS No.25-0581 with a rock-like morphology from SEM analysis. The elemental distribution of the EDS spectra results of the samples showed that higher ball mill speed and mixing time dramatically affected the mixing (homogenisation) of the precursor synthesis, which affected the electrochemical test results.