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Abstract Effective recycling of end-of-life Li-ion batteries (LIBs) is essential due to continuous accumulation of battery waste and gradual depletion of battery metal resources. The present closed-loop solutions include destructive conversion to metal compounds, by destroying the entire three-dimensional morphology of the cathode through continuous thermal treatment or harsh wet extraction methods, and direct regeneration by lithium replenishment. Here, we report a solvent- and water-free flash Joule heating (FJH) method combined with magnetic separation to restore fresh cathodes from waste cathodes, followed by solid-state relithiation. The entire process is called flash recycling. This FJH method exhibits the merits of milliseconds of duration and high battery metal recovery yields of ~98%. After FJH, the cathodes reveal intact core structures with hierarchical features, implying the feasibility of their reconstituting into new cathodes. Relithiated cathodes are further used in LIBs, and show good electrochemical performance, comparable to new commercial counterparts. Life-cycle-analysis highlights that flash recycling has higher environmental and economic benefits over traditional destructive recycling processes.

Abstract Soil contamination is an environmental issue due to increasing anthropogenic activities. Existing processes for soil remediation suffer from long treatment time and lack generality because of different sources, occurrences, and properties of pollutants. Here, we report a high-temperature electrothermal process for rapid, water-free remediation of multiple pollutants in soil. The temperature of contaminated soil with carbon additives ramps up to 1000 to 3000 °C as needed within seconds via pulsed direct current input, enabling the vaporization of heavy metals like Cd, Hg, Pb, Co, Ni, and Cu, and graphitization of persistent organic pollutants like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The rapid treatment retains soil mineral constituents while increases infiltration rate and exchangeable nutrient supply, leading to soil fertilization and improved germination rates. We propose strategies for upscaling and field applications. Techno-economic analysis indicates the process holds the potential for being more energy-efficient and cost-effective compared to soil washing or thermal desorption.

High-surface-area corundum are used in ceramics and catalyst supports, yet the synthesis is hampered by high energy barrier and aggregation. Here the authors report the ultrafast synthesis of corundum nanoparticles via the resistive hotspot triggered phase transformation in electric heating process.

Precious metals recovery from electronics wastes, termed urban mining, is significant for a circular economy. Here, the authors reported a solvent-free and ultrafast process based on flash Joule heating to recover precious metals and remove toxic heavy metals in electronic wastes.

Nature Communications 5: Article number: 3961 (2014); Published: 3 June 2014; Updated: 1 November 2016 In this Article, we reported the synthesis of nucleophilic sulfur- and nitrogen-containing porous carbons and their carbon dioxide uptake performance. Specifically, we described a mechanism where the carbon dioxide polymerized in the channels of the porous support.