Tailoring crystal plane of short-process regenerated LiFePO4 towards enhanced rate properties

Captured by the environmental and economic value, the recycling of spent lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries has attracted numerous attentions. However, hydrometallurgical method still suffers from complex process, and hydrothermal method is limited by morphology control, ascribed to the strong polarity of water. Herein, supported by ethanol as crystal surface modifier, the regular (010) orientation and short b-axis are effectively tailored for regenerated LFP. As Li-storage cathode, the capacities of as-optimized LFP could reach up to 157.07 mA h g−1 at 1 C, and the stable capacity of 150.50 mA h g−1 could be remained with retention of 93.48% after 400 cycles at 1 C. Even at 10 C, their capacity could be still kept about 119.3 mA h g−1. Assisted by the detail analysis of adsorption energy, the clear growth mechanism is proposed, the lowest adsorbing energy (−4.66 eV) of ethanol on (010) crystal plane renders the ordered growth along (010) crystal plane. Given this, the work is expected to shed light on the tailoring mechanism of internal plane about regenerated materials, whilst providing effective strategies for high-performance regenerated LFP.