RT Journal Article T1 Extraction and selective precipitation of metal ions from LiCoO2 cathodes using citric acid. A1 Cerrillo-González, María del Mar A1 Paz-García, Juan Manuel A1 Muñoz-Espinosa, María A1 Rodríguez-Maroto, José Miguel A1 Villén-Guzmán, María Dolores K1 Pilas de litio K1 Reciclado AB The most common methods for recycling Lithium-Ion Batteries use strong mineral acids and hydrogen peroxide. Alternative acids and reducing agents are currently being studied to reduce the environmental impact of these batteries recycling processes. This research provides a practical pathway for recycling batteries using citric acid as a sustainable lixiviant. The combination of citric acid and copper as extractant and reductant agents, respectively, to selectively recover lithium and cobalt from LiCoO2 has been studied. Leaching with 2 M citric acid and 70 °C in the presence of copper resulted in a recovery of nearly 100 % Li and around 81 % Co, contained in the liquid phase and the solid precipitate formed during the experiments. Cobalt solubility experiments and solid characterization were performed to understand further the formation of cobalt-citrate solid species detected. Experimental and theoretical results suggest that the precipitate could be identified as CoHCitrate, associated with the selective recovery of cobalt from LiCoO2. Results obtained in this work indicate that citric acid could be used not only as an extractant agent but also as a precursor to precipitate metals from LIBs, improving the efficiency and selectivity of recycling processes. PB Elsevier YR 2023 FD 2023-12-12 LK https://hdl.handle.net/10630/36372 UL https://hdl.handle.net/10630/36372 LA eng NO Journal of Power Sources 592 (2024) 233870 NO This work has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 778045. Authors acknowledge the funding from the University of Málaga (B1-2021_35). Authors also acknowledge the support received by the SCAI-UMA (Malaga, Sapin) to perform the FTIR and UV–Vis measurements. Cerrillo-Gonzalez acknowledges the FPU2018/04295 grant obtained from the Spanish Ministry of Universities. Partial funding for open access charge: Universidad de Málaga / CBUA. DS RIUMA. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Málaga RD 10 abr 2026