Electrochemical possibility of iron compounds in used disposable heating pads and their use in lithium ion batteries.

In this study, iron oxides obtained from used disposable heating pads are used as an anode material in lithium ion batteries. Fe3O4 and Fe2O3 phases are identified using XRD. Additionally, the existence of other substances, such as carbon and NaCl, are determined using EDS dot mapping. Purified powder (PP) is prepared by washing the obtained powder (OP) with distilled water and ethanol. Heat-treated powder (HP) is prepared by heating PP at 600 °C. The electrochemical result shows that PP delivers a discharge capacity of ∼700 mAh g(-1) after 50 cycles. HP delivers a higher initial capacity of 1170 mAh g(-1); however, the discharge capacity decreases drastically to 500 mAh g(-1). These results were similar to those determined for commercial iron oxide in previous studies.