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Vol. 18 (2026)

Directional Reconstruction of Spent Lithium Cobalt Oxide by Microwave Plasma: Efficient Oxygen Evolution Catalyst from Closed‑Loop Recovered Resources

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-026-02164-1
Chao Chen
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Henan Academy of Sciences, Zhengzhou 450052, Henan, People’s Republic of China
Qixuan Zhu
State Key Laboratory of Advanced Fiber Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, People’s Republic of China
Minghui Shan
State Key Laboratory of Advanced Fiber Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, People’s Republic of China
Lei Cheng
State Key Laboratory of Advanced Fiber Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, People’s Republic of China
Weiwei Wang
State Key Laboratory of Advanced Fiber Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, People’s Republic of China
Zhiqiang Lu
State Key Laboratory of Advanced Fiber Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, People’s Republic of China
Yi Wang
State Key Laboratory of Advanced Fiber Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, People’s Republic of China
Hengda Sun
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Henan Academy of Sciences, Zhengzhou 450052, Henan, People’s Republic of China
Yusuke Yamauchi
Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN) and School of Chemical Engineering, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia
Jing Tang
State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Molecular and Process Engineering, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Green Chemistry and Chemical Processes, School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, People’s Republic of China
Guiyin Xu
School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Henan Academy of Sciences, Zhengzhou 450052, Henan, People’s Republic of China

Corresponding Author: Guiyin Xu

xuguiyin@dhu.edu.cn

Nano-Micro Letters, Vol. 18 (2026), Article Number: 327

Abstract

The key challenge of water electrolysis is the high energy barrier of the oxygen intermediate of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and the unclear catalytic active sites. The recycling of valuable metals from spent batteries and their reconstruction into high-performance electrolytic water catalysts offers significant economic and environmental benefits. In this work, we report a Co3O4/NiFe-layered double hydroxide heterostructure electrocatalyst by reconstruction of spent LiCoO2 cathode material through microwave plasma treatment and then compositing with NiFe-layered double hydroxides through a simple hydrothermal method. This catalyst achieves a low overpotential of 235 mV at 10 mA cm−2 for OER and exhibits prolonged stability at high current densities when integrated into an alkaline electrolyzer, which surpasses commercial IrO2. In situ spectral analysis and density functional theory demonstrate that the presence of heterostructures between Co3O4 and NiFe-LDH optimizes the charge transport path and reduces the interface resistance. Specifically, the charge redistribution optimizes the adsorption energy of oxygenated intermediates on the Ni and Fe sites, thereby optimizing the reaction pathway and significantly improving the overall OER catalytic efficiency. This work provides a green and scalable way to convert spent metal sources into high-value electrocatalysts, while addressing critical challenges in energy storage and sustainable hydrogen production.


Highlights:
1 A closed-loop recycling route for spent LiCoO2 batteries, converting metal resources into high-value electrocatalysts with environmental and economic merits.
2 Synergistic microwave plasma etching and hydrothermal method enable precise construction of Co3O4/NiFe-LDH heterostructures, optimizing material surface and interface properties.
3 Charge redistribution at the heterointerface regulates oxygen intermediate adsorption, providing a new interfacial engineering idea for low-cost water electrolysis catalysts.

Keywords

Battery recycling Microwave plasma treatment Heterostructure Electrolyzed water
Chen, Chao, Qixuan Zhu, Minghui Shan, Lei Cheng, Weiwei Wang, Zhiqiang Lu, Yi Wang, Hengda Sun, Yusuke Yamauchi, Jing Tang, and Guiyin Xu. 2026. “Directional Reconstruction of Spent Lithium Cobalt Oxide by Microwave Plasma: Efficient Oxygen Evolution Catalyst from Closed‑Loop Recovered Resources”. Nano-Micro Letters 18 (April):327. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-026-02164-1.
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