Exploration of Cu, Fe Al and Ti in direct recycling and pristine battery cathodes.

The presence of metallic impurities in active cathode materials from direct recycling processes is common and can have drastic effects on the properties of recycled batteries. In particular, the presence of Cu, Fe, Al and Ti from the metal anode can occur during the shredding stage of end-of-life batteries or due to cross-contamination with different types of batteries.
To better characterize the morphology and chemistry of these impurities, coupled XRF and XANES measurements were carried out on these materials.