LiCoO2, a cathode material for lithium rechargeable batteries, was prepared using recycled Co3O4. First, cobalt powders were separated from waste WC-Co hard metal with an acid-base chemical treatment. Subsequently, Co3O4 powders were prepared by thermal treatment of the resulting Co(OH)2. By adding a predetermined amount of LiOH •H2O, LiCoO2 was obtained by sintering for 10 h in air at 800 οC. Nano-sized LiCoO2 was obtained by thermal treatment of the LiOH-coated Co3O4 particles at 500 οC for 3 h. LiOH was coated onto the Co3O4 particles by a sonochemical method. The synthesized micro- and nano- LiCoO2 particles using recycled Co precursors were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) analysis.

Keywords: WC-Co composite powder, Recycle, Cobalt oxide, Lithium cobalt oxide.