Prof.  Indrajit  Mukhopadhyay
Pandit Deendayal Energy University,  India

Title: Preparation of Silicon/Graphite Composite Anode from Waste Zn-Carbon Primary Battery for High Energy Lithium Ion Battery

Abstract:

Battery recycling/upcycling is a key component of modern e-waste reduction by transforming discarded electrode powder into value-added materials and chemical feedstocks for the lithium-ion battery applications. In this study, electrode powder from spent zinc carbon batteries was upcycled into NMC622 cathode and carbon anode for rechargeable lithium-ion battery. Recycling spent batteries offers a promising, low-cost solution to meet the growing demand for LiB raw materials. By applying leaching and sequential precipitation to electrode powder of Zn-C, Graphite (RG) and Mn3O4 were obtained as determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). For cathode, the recovered Mn2O3 was heated with a stoichiometric amount of Li(OH)2, Ni(OH)2 and Co(OH)2 to produce high crystalline and pure NMC622, which exhibited an initial discharge capacity of 150 mAh g⁻¹ at 0.1C. To enhance the energy density of lithium-ion batteries, traditional graphite anodes are being replaced by high-capacity materials like silicon. Here, we present a silicon/recycled graphite (C@Si/RG) composite anode, fabricated from a cost-effective and environmentally friendly process. The discharge specific capacity of C@Si/RG composite anode is 1403.90 mAh g⁻¹ after 100 cycles at 1 A g−1. Even the full-cell with the propitiated C@Si/RG based anode and the upcycled NMC622 cathode exhibited very high energy density 80 mAh g-1 at 1C and retaining around 50% capacity after long-term 1000 cycles. We believe that the recycling and utilization of Zn-C waste battery might play a crucial role in the next-generation energy storage applications.

Biography:

Personal History: Dr. Indrajit Mukhopadhyay has been working as a Professor in the Dept. of Solar Energy, Pandit Deendayal Energy University, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India, since 2011. He received the prestigious CSIR rural technology award 2008 and Vikram Sarabhai Award 2006 as a key team member for his excellent contribution in the field of chemical sciences while working at CSMCRI (CSIR), Bhavnagar. He has published more than 250 research papers having an H index of 34 (Google scholar).

Research interests: Interfacial Electron Transfer, Electro-crystallization, Battery and electrochemical Sensor, Photo-electrochemistry.