Hydrometallurgical Synthesis of Nickel Nano-Sulfides from Spent Lithium-Ion Batteries

Abstract

By developing technologies, spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are considered a great source of nickel-cobalt ions to fabricate metal sulfide nanoparticles. However, the presence of unnecessary ions such as manganese and lithium may hamper the formation of pure metal sulfide nanostructures where the utilization of proper ligand(s) can be very critical. For this reason, the present study initially introduces a promising and cost-effective acidic leaching followed by precipitation and thermal treatment (~250 °C, 1 h) processes to fabricate pure NiS nanopowders from the LIBs, while considering potassium amyl xanthate as the precipitating agent. The produced nanoparticle’s size and structure were characterized by commonly used and advanced analytical techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and photon correlation spectroscopy (PCS), and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The elemental distributions and functional groups were analyzed through energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) methods. The characteristic analyses of the spherical-like NiS particles showed a mean particle size of 61 ± 2 nm (by TEM) and 64 nm (through the PCS method) with high purities approved via XRD and EDS analyses. Moreover, comparing the obtained XRD data with the standard ones showed a perfect match with the hexagonal structure of the NiS phase. We finally concluded that such a presented approach is very practical and efficient for converting the LIBs to an extremely valuable product. Future studies are suggested for the fundamental conceptualization of the processes.

Facile In Situ Synthesis of Co(OH)2–Ni3S2 Nanowires on Ni Foam for Use in High-Energy-Density Supercapacitors

“…However, low-rate capability and poor electrochemical stability limit practical applications because of the surface Faradaic redox reactions and reverse kinetics during rapid charge−discharge [ 16 ]. Nickel sulfides have various phases, such as α– and β–NiS, NiS 2 , and Ni 3 S 2 are low−cost, abundant materials with widespread applications, such as LIB and supercapacitor electrode materials [ 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ].…”

Shape controlled growth of hierarchical NixSy on stainless steel by solution processing with enhanced electrochemical energy storage performance

“…44 The bands at 638, 641, and 964 cm À1 correspond to the symmetrical and asymmetrical stretching of the Ni-S bond Paper NJC in Ni x S y . 45 Additionally, the bands appearing at 2977 cm À1 may be attributed to the asymmetric C-H stretching of alcohol used as a solvent for the synthesis of nickel sulfide. 46 The electrochemical properties of the Ni x S y electrodes were investigated using various electrochemical techniques, including cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge-discharge (GCD) curves, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), all conducted in a 1 M KOH electrolyte.…”

“…44 The bands at 638, 641, and 964 cm −1 correspond to the symmetrical and asymmetrical stretching of the Ni–S bond in Ni x S y . 45 Additionally, the bands appearing at 2977 cm −1 may be attributed to the asymmetric C–H stretching of alcohol used as a solvent for the synthesis of nickel sulfide. 46…”

Fe doped NiS nanosheet arrays grown on carbon fiber paper for a highly efficient electrocatalytic oxygen evolution reaction

“…For sulfides, the band at 960 cm −1 can be attributed to the symmetrical and asymmetrical stretch of the metal–sulfide (M–S) band. 32 …”