Evaluation of the Removal of PVDF Using ToF-SIMS: Comparing Dihydrolevoglucosenone and Pyrolysis as Pretreatments for Cathode Materials of Lithium-Ion Batteries

Effective and environmentally benign removal of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) binders from spent battery electrodes remains a critical hurdle in sustainable recycling, primarily due to issues related to the mitigation of fluorinated compound emissions. This work evaluates PVDF binder removal from c...

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Main Authors: Henderson, Marc Simon, Salces, Aliza Marie, Rickard, William DA, Fougerouse, Denis, Medina, Álvaro José Rodríguez, Oraby, Elsayed A, Beh, Jane, Rudolph, Martin, Vanderbruggen, Anna, Eksteen, Jacques
Format: Journal Article
Published: MDPI 2025
Online Access:http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/LE190100053
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/97421
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author Henderson, Marc Simon
Salces, Aliza Marie
Rickard, William DA
Fougerouse, Denis
Medina, Álvaro José Rodríguez
Oraby, Elsayed A
Beh, Jane
Rudolph, Martin
Vanderbruggen, Anna
Eksteen, Jacques
author_facet Henderson, Marc Simon
Salces, Aliza Marie
Rickard, William DA
Fougerouse, Denis
Medina, Álvaro José Rodríguez
Oraby, Elsayed A
Beh, Jane
Rudolph, Martin
Vanderbruggen, Anna
Eksteen, Jacques
author_sort Henderson, Marc Simon
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Effective and environmentally benign removal of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) binders from spent battery electrodes remains a critical hurdle in sustainable recycling, primarily due to issues related to the mitigation of fluorinated compound emissions. This work evaluates PVDF binder removal from cathode active material using either a green solvent-based dissolution process or pyrolysis, analyzed by time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS). The solvent pretreatment involved mixing dihydrolevoglucosenone (Cyrene™) with PVDF-coated NMC811 at 100 °C, followed by hot filtration to separate the Cyrene-PVDF solution. Pyrolysis was conducted at 800 °C under an argon atmosphere. Positive ToF-SIMS spectra for Cyrene showed characteristic peaks at ketene (42 m/z) and 1,3-dioxole (86 m/z), along with intense C2H3O+, C3H3O+, C4H7+, and C3H5O+ peaks. The characteristic peaks used to identify PVDF were C3H2F5+ (133 m/z), C3H2F3+ (95 m/z), and C3HF4+ (113 m/z). Both processes resulted in PVDF removal, with pyrolysis demonstrating higher effectiveness. Particle agglomeration was observed in both pretreated NMC811 samples, however agglomeration was more pronounced with Cyrene pretreatment due to PVDF redeposition. Following pyrolysis, PVDF was transformed into a defluorinated carbonaceous material.
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institution Curtin University Malaysia
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-974212025-05-23T05:17:11Z Evaluation of the Removal of PVDF Using ToF-SIMS: Comparing Dihydrolevoglucosenone and Pyrolysis as Pretreatments for Cathode Materials of Lithium-Ion Batteries Henderson, Marc Simon Salces, Aliza Marie Rickard, William DA Fougerouse, Denis Medina, Álvaro José Rodríguez Oraby, Elsayed A Beh, Jane Rudolph, Martin Vanderbruggen, Anna Eksteen, Jacques Effective and environmentally benign removal of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) binders from spent battery electrodes remains a critical hurdle in sustainable recycling, primarily due to issues related to the mitigation of fluorinated compound emissions. This work evaluates PVDF binder removal from cathode active material using either a green solvent-based dissolution process or pyrolysis, analyzed by time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS). The solvent pretreatment involved mixing dihydrolevoglucosenone (Cyrene™) with PVDF-coated NMC811 at 100 °C, followed by hot filtration to separate the Cyrene-PVDF solution. Pyrolysis was conducted at 800 °C under an argon atmosphere. Positive ToF-SIMS spectra for Cyrene showed characteristic peaks at ketene (42 m/z) and 1,3-dioxole (86 m/z), along with intense C2H3O+, C3H3O+, C4H7+, and C3H5O+ peaks. The characteristic peaks used to identify PVDF were C3H2F5+ (133 m/z), C3H2F3+ (95 m/z), and C3HF4+ (113 m/z). Both processes resulted in PVDF removal, with pyrolysis demonstrating higher effectiveness. Particle agglomeration was observed in both pretreated NMC811 samples, however agglomeration was more pronounced with Cyrene pretreatment due to PVDF redeposition. Following pyrolysis, PVDF was transformed into a defluorinated carbonaceous material. 2025 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/97421 10.3390/recycling10020056 http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/LE190100053 MDPI fulltext
spellingShingle Henderson, Marc Simon
Salces, Aliza Marie
Rickard, William DA
Fougerouse, Denis
Medina, Álvaro José Rodríguez
Oraby, Elsayed A
Beh, Jane
Rudolph, Martin
Vanderbruggen, Anna
Eksteen, Jacques
Evaluation of the Removal of PVDF Using ToF-SIMS: Comparing Dihydrolevoglucosenone and Pyrolysis as Pretreatments for Cathode Materials of Lithium-Ion Batteries
title Evaluation of the Removal of PVDF Using ToF-SIMS: Comparing Dihydrolevoglucosenone and Pyrolysis as Pretreatments for Cathode Materials of Lithium-Ion Batteries
title_full Evaluation of the Removal of PVDF Using ToF-SIMS: Comparing Dihydrolevoglucosenone and Pyrolysis as Pretreatments for Cathode Materials of Lithium-Ion Batteries
title_fullStr Evaluation of the Removal of PVDF Using ToF-SIMS: Comparing Dihydrolevoglucosenone and Pyrolysis as Pretreatments for Cathode Materials of Lithium-Ion Batteries
title_full_unstemmed Evaluation of the Removal of PVDF Using ToF-SIMS: Comparing Dihydrolevoglucosenone and Pyrolysis as Pretreatments for Cathode Materials of Lithium-Ion Batteries
title_short Evaluation of the Removal of PVDF Using ToF-SIMS: Comparing Dihydrolevoglucosenone and Pyrolysis as Pretreatments for Cathode Materials of Lithium-Ion Batteries
title_sort evaluation of the removal of pvdf using tof-sims: comparing dihydrolevoglucosenone and pyrolysis as pretreatments for cathode materials of lithium-ion batteries
url http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/LE190100053
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/97421