Scientists turn old phones, paper waste into next-gen battery material

Researchers from Shenyang Agricultural University in China have developed a sustainable method to create advanced electrode materials for sodium-ion batteries by recycling discarded mobile phone batteries and industrial lignin, a byproduct of paper and biofuel production. Using hydrothermal synthesis, they extracted nickel and cobalt from old batteries and combined these metal sulfides with lignin-derived carbon to form a composite material. This composite serves as an efficient anode, with lignin providing a conductive carbon coating that stabilizes the structure and enhances electrical conductivity, while the metal sulfides offer active sites for sodium-ion storage. Testing showed the material achieved an initial discharge capacity exceeding 1,000 mAh/g and maintained strong performance even at high current densities, indicating suitability for rapid charge-discharge cycles. This innovation exemplifies circular economy principles by addressing two environmental challenges simultaneously: electronic waste and industrial byproduct valorization. Sodium-ion batteries, favored for their abundance, low cost, and environmental friendliness compared to lithium-ion batteries, have faced challenges in electrode efficiency