Progress in recovering metals from decommissioned batteries using deep eutectic solvents

Abstract

With the popularity of electric vehicles and the global green energy transformation, the demand for batteries has increased dramatically. Dealing with precious metals and harmful metals in decommissioned batteries has become a significant challenge. Failure to recycle them will threaten the ecological environment and human health. Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) have shown great potential in metal recovery as a green solvent in recent years. Compared with traditional organic solvents, DESs exhibit higher selectivity and solubility for metals such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, and manganese, and the metal recovery efficiency can generally reach 99% or above. This article reviews the research progress of DESs in recovering metals from decommissioned batteries, introduces their synthesis method, analyzes the latest results of DESs’ metal extraction, and discusses the development of DESs’ regeneration technology. Finally, future research directions and trends in this field are presented.