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High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide The growing demand for energy storage technologies has led to a rapid rise in battery consumption, generating large volumes of hazardous spent batteries that pose serious environmental and health risks. While conventional recycling focuses on metal recovery, the emerging strategy of upcycling battery waste into functional photocatalysts offers a unique value-added pathway that goes beyond resource recovery to tackle global environmental challenges. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive review dedicated to the upcycling of both primary and secondary battery components into advanced photocatalytic materials. We systematically summarize recent progress in transforming battery-derived transition metals, metal oxides, and carbonaceous materials into photocatalysts for diverse applications including carbon dioxide reduction, hydrogen evolution, volatile organic compound degradation, organic transformations, and wastewater treatment. Emphasis is placed on synthesis strategies, structure–property relationships, and the underlying photocatalytic mechanisms. Finally, we critically discuss the challenges, knowledge gaps, and future opportunities for scaling up this green and circular approach. This timely review not only underscores the potential of battery waste as a sustainable feedstock but also aims to guide the rational design of low-cost, efficient, and environmentally friendly photocatalysts for different energy and environmental applications.
Gupta et al. (Wed,) studied this question.