Recycling of Ni-Cd batteries by selective isolation and hydrothermal synthesis of porous NiO nanocuboid

Recycling batteries has become essential for improving sustainability, economy and environment. Batteries recycling and recovery processes are multi steps and require purified reagents which are often very toxic. Herein, we report a feasible approach to process scrap Ni-Cd batteries into highly porous NiO nanocuboids. Cathode of Ni-Cd battery contains approximately 42% elemental Ni along with several impurities such as Mg, Co, Cd and Na. In this work, by applying few-steps of selective isolation and hydrothermal treatment, the content of Ni could be raised up to 77% and purified in the form of NiO porous nanocuboids. Morphology, crystal structure, composition, and surface area measurements of NiO nanocuboids was studied by HR-TEM, FE-SEM, XRD, XPS and BET characterization techniques, respectively.