Research data supporting the publication "Towards a direct recycling approach for complex Li/Na ion cathode mixtures: a selective leaching approach to separate components"

Commonly, the first stage of the battery recycling process involves shredding to liberate the materials for further processing. In cells where blended electrodes are a common occurrence, or cross-contamination occurs from the shredding of different cell chemistries, direct recycling – where the framework of the material remains intact – becomes increasing more challenging.

Here we report a potential strategy for dealing with such complex mixtures, highlighting a selective leaching approach that can allow the selective separation of a commercial Na-ion cathode material (NFM: NaNi1/3Fe1/3Mn1/3O2) from a mixture with a commercial Ni rich NMC (83% Ni) (NMC: LiNi0.83Mn0.06Co0.11O2) cathode material. A simple ascorbic acid treatment selectively dissolves the NFM leaving the NMC as a solid (attributed to the higher Mn content of the former), allowing the subsequent direct recycling/regeneration of the NMC, along with the short loop recycling/regeneration of the NFM.