From spent alkaline batteries to ZnxMn3−xO4 by a hydrometallurgical route: synthesis and characterization

A series of Zn/Mn binary oxides with different molar ratios (1.4–11) were synthesized via co-precipitation from a solution obtained through the acidic (HCl) leaching of a black mass originating from the mechanical recycling of spent alkaline and Zn–C batteries. The oxides obtained were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and Raman spectroscopy. Magnetic properties of the samples were also investigated. The Raman spectroscopy results showed all the binary metallic oxides belong to the ZnxMn3−xO4 (0.25 ≤ x ≥ 1.75) type. All showed a spinel crystalline structure. The saturation magnetization decreases with the Zn/Mn molar ratio; a maximum of 13.19 emu g−1 was found for the molar ratio of 11 at the Curie temperature (25.5 K). XPS showed that all the synthesized compounds contained Mn2+, Mn3+ and Mn4+. Mn2+ was the most prominent at a molar ratio of 11, Mn3+ was most common at a molar ratio of 2, and Mn4+ at 1.4.