Extraction of lithium from the simulated pyrometallurgical slag of spent lithium-ion batteries by binary eutectic molten carbonates

The effective and low-temperature extraction of lithium from the pyrometallurgical slag of spent lithium-ion batteries(LIBs)remains a great challenge.Herein,potassium carbonate/sodium carbonate(K_(2)CO_(3)/Na_(2)CO_(3)),which could form a eutectic molten salt system at 720℃,was used as a roasting agent to extract lithium from pyrometallurgical slag.Lithium was successfully extracted from the slag by K_(2)CO_(3)/Na_(2)CO_(3) roasting followed by water leaching.Theoretical calculation results indicate that the lengths of Li-O bonds increase after K^(+)/Na^(+)adsorption,resulting in the easy release of Li^(+)from the LiAlSi_(2)O_(6) lattice after roasting with K_(2)CO_(3)/Na_(2)CO_(3).Thermogravimetry-differential scanning calorimetry results indicate that the eutectic phenomenon of K_(2)CO_(3) and Na_(2)CO_(3) could be observed at 720℃ and that the reaction of the slag and eutectic molten salts occurs at temperatures above 720℃.X-ray diffraction results suggest that Li^(+)in the slag is exchanged by K^(+)in K_(2)CO_(3) with the concurrent formation of KAlSiO_(4),while Na_(2)CO_(3) mainly functions as a fluxing agent.The lithium extraction efficiency can reach 93.87%under the optimal conditions of a roasting temperature of 740℃,roasting time of 30 min,leaching temperature of 50℃,leaching time of 40 min,and water/roasted sample mass ratio of 10:1.This work provides a new system for extracting lithium from the pyrometallurgical slag of spent LIBs.

Enhancement of the formic acid electrooxidation activity of palladium using graphene/carbon black binary carbon supports

Combinations of graphene(Gr)and carbon black(C)were employed as binary carbon supports to fabricate Pd‐based electrocatalysts via one‐pot co‐reduction with Pd2+.The electrocatalytic performance of the resulting Pd/Gr‐C catalysts during the electrooxidation of formic acid was assessed.A Pd/Gr0.3C0.7(Gr oxide:C=3:7,based on the precursor mass ratio)electrocatalyst exhibited better catalytic performance than both Pd/C and Pd/Gr catalysts.The current density generated by the Pd/Gr0.3C0.7catalyst was as high as102.14mA mgPd?1,a value that is approximately3times that obtained from the Pd/C(34.40mA mgPd?1)and2.6times that of the Pd/Gr material(38.50mA mgPd?1).The anodic peak potential of the Pd/Gr0.3C0.7was120mV more negative than that of the Pd/C and70mV more negative than that of the Pd/Gr.Scanning electron microscopy images indicated that the spherical C particles accumulated on the wrinkled graphene surfaces to form C cluster/Gr hybrids having three‐dimensional nanostructures.X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy data confirmed the interaction between the Pd metal and the binary Gr‐C support.The Pd/Gr0.3C0.7also exhibited high stability,and so is a promising candidate for the fabrication of anodes for direct formic acid fuel cells.This work demonstrates a simple and cost‐effective method for improving the performance of Pd‐based electrocatalysts,which should have potential industrial applications.

Determination of Critical Parameters of Carbon Dioxide+Butyraldehyde System with Different Compositions

Supercritical carbon dioxide（SC-CO2 ） is considered in green chemistry as a substitute for conventional solvents in chemical reactions due to its environmentally benign character. Recently we have reported the homogeneous hydroformylation of propylene in supercritical carbon dioxide（ SC-CO2 ） , which is an example of this kind of application of carbon dioxide. The determination for the critical parameters of carbon dioxide ＋ butyraldehyde mixtures is necessary for this reaction design which is the focus of the present paper. The critical parameters of the binary systems were determined via the static visual method at a constant volume with the molar fraction of butyraldehyde ranging from 1.0% to 2. 2% and the pressure ranging from 5 to 10 MPa. The experimental results show that the critical pressure and temperature increased with increasing the molar fraction of butyraldehyde. The bubble（dew） temperatures and the bubble （dew） pressures for the binary systems were also determined experimentally. The p-T Figures at different compositions of the binary systems were described. In addition, the critical compressibility factors Zc of the binary systems at different concentrations of n-butyraldehyde were calculated. It was found that the critical compressibility factor values of the binary systems decreased with increasing the molar fraction of n-butyraldehyde in the experimental range.