Novel LiAlO 2 Material for Scalable and Facile Lithium Recovery Using Electrochemical Ion Pumping.

In this study, α-LiAlO 2 was investigated for the first time as a Li-capturing positive electrode material to recover Li from aqueous Li resources. The material was synthesized using hydrothermal synthesis and air annealing, which is a low-cost and low-energy fabrication process. The physical characterization showed that the material formed an α-LiAlO 2 phase, and electrochemical activation revealed the presence of AlO 2 * as a Li deficient form that can intercalate Li + . The AlO 2 */activated carbon electrode pair showed selective capture of Li + ions when the concentrations were between 100 mM and 25 mM. In mono salt solution comprising 25 mM LiCl, the adsorption capacity was 8.25 mg g -1 , and the energy consumption was 27.98 Wh mol Li -1 . The system can also handle complex solutions such as first-pass seawater reverse osmosis brine, which has a slightly higher concentration of Li than seawater at 0.34 ppm.