Lithium-ion batteries (LIB) are widely used in daily applications because they offer high energy density, long cycle life, and fast charging capabilities, making them ideal for portable electronics and electric vehicles. Despite the obvious advantage, the issue remains their disposal at end-of-life. Most spent LIBs are dumped in landfills constituting potential negative environmental impacts such as heavy metal contamination of groundwater table, soil contamination and damage to human organs arising from bioaccumulation. While efforts have been made towards waste management, the conversion of spent LIB to useful materials remains under-explored. This study proposes a technique for the synthesis of lithium orthosilicate (Li4SiO4) CO2 sorbent using spent LIB. The proposed method does not require leaching, has fewer steps and zero waste is produced. The produced Li4SiO4 showed improved surface area and pore size distribution compared to the traditional sorbent. Furthermore, the prepared Li4SiO4 showed improved CO2 capture over multiple cycles. Our findings demonstrated that spent LIB is a promising precursor for Li4SiO4 synthesis.
