Science & Tech · Science & Environment · 1 hr ago
Water-soluble battery glue could ease manufacturing and recycling
Fluorine-based glue makes lithium-ion batteries harder to recycle because it must be removed with high heat or harsh chemicals.
Engineers at the University of California San Diego and their collaborators developed a glue made from common materials and citric acid.
The new glue comes off in plain water, avoiding the toxic solvent used with standard glue.
In small test cells, it held charge about as well as standard glue at first, and cells with it kept more capacity over extended tests.
The tests used cells far smaller than electric-car batteries, so the results do not show how the glue would perform in large battery packs.
If it works at factory scale, the glue could simplify recycling and reduce manufacturing impacts.
Engineers developed a water-soluble battery glue that could make manufacturing and recycling easier.
The glue uses carboxymethyl cellulose, polyacrylic acid and citric acid, and comes off in plain water.
In small test cells, batteries made with the glue initially stored nearly the same charge per gram as those made with standard glue.
After 1,000 charging and discharging rounds, cells with the new glue retained 75.7 percent of their starting capacity.
The tests were conducted in small laboratory cells, not electric-car battery packs.
- Who
- Engineers at the University of California San Diego developed the glue, working with researchers from Toyota Research Institute of North America and Arizona State University.
- What
- They developed a water-soluble glue for lithium-ion battery electrodes.
- When
- The article was published on November 12, 2026.
- Where
- The work was conducted by researchers at the University of California San Diego, Toyota Research Institute of North America and Arizona State University.
- Why
- Standard battery glue is difficult to remove for recycling and requires a toxic solvent during manufacturing.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Cells made with either the new glue or standard glue stored nearly the same charge per gram.
Cells with the new glue retained 75.7 percent of their starting capacity.
- New glue ingredients
- Carboxymethyl cellulose, polyacrylic acid and citric acid
- Share of electrode weight
- 2 percent
- New-glue drying conditions
- 140°F (60°C) for four hours
- Standard-glue drying conditions
- 248°F (120°C) for 12 hours
- Capacity after cycling
- 75.7 percent after 1,000 charging and discharging rounds
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What people are saying
Those extra steps significantly increase the cost and energy use – as well as the environmental impact – of battery manufacturing.
But that same stability also makes batteries much harder to recycle.