Novel LiAlO<sub>2</sub> Material for Scalable and Facile Lithium Recovery Using Electrochemical Ion Pumping
Tasneem Elmakki,
Sifani Zavahir,
Umme Hafsa,
Leena Al-Sulaiti,
Zubair Ahmad,
Yuan Chen,
Hyunwoong Park,
Ho Kyong Shon,
Yeek-Chia Ho,
Dong Suk Han
Affiliations
Tasneem Elmakki
Center for Advanced Materials, Qatar University, Doha P.O. Box 2713, Qatar
Sifani Zavahir
Center for Advanced Materials, Qatar University, Doha P.O. Box 2713, Qatar
Umme Hafsa
Center for Advanced Materials, Qatar University, Doha P.O. Box 2713, Qatar
Leena Al-Sulaiti
Department of Mathematics, Statistics and Physics, College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University, Doha P.O. Box 2713, Qatar
Zubair Ahmad
Qatar University Young Scientists Center (QUYSC), Qatar University, Doha P.O. Box 2713, Qatar
Yuan Chen
School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
Hyunwoong Park
School of Energy Engineering, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Republic of Korea
Ho Kyong Shon
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and IT, University of Technology Sydney, P.O. Box 123, Broadway, NSW 2007, Australia
Yeek-Chia Ho
Centre for Urban Resource Sustainability, Institute of Self-Sustainable Building, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Seri Iskandar 32610, Malaysia
Dong Suk Han
Center for Advanced Materials, Qatar University, Doha P.O. Box 2713, Qatar
In this study, α-LiAlO2 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-LiAlO2 phase, and electrochemical activation revealed the presence of AlO2* as a Li deficient form that can intercalate Li+. The AlO2*/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.
