Issue 6, 2024

Mechanism of lithium ion selectivity through membranes: a brief review

Abstract

The recycling and reuse of lithium resources from spent lithium-ion batteries have become a major research area to address the contradiction between limited resources and increasing market demand. Membrane separation, as a highly efficient and easy-to-operate process, has attracted more attention among various lithium recycling technologies. However, the complicated ion migration process results in an insufficient understanding of the lithium ion diffusion mechanism in membrane separation. In this review, recent research efforts on membrane separation technology for lithium recovery are summarized, with the mechanism of ion selectivity through membranes being emphasized. To illustrate the ion diffusion mechanism, the ion transportation process through a membrane is divided into 3 sequential stages: the entering of ions into the channel openings of the membrane, the diffusion of ions within the channels, and the returning of ions to the solution on the other side of the membrane. In each stage, the main factors that affect lithium ion selectivity through membranes are discussed, including the ion charge, hydration energy, channel size and functional groups. It is found that the selectivity of the membrane separation process is highly correlated to the ion hydration energy and the interaction between the ion and the functional groups. In particular, the ion hydration energy is the key factor affecting the entry stage, while the anchoring strength between the ion and the functional groups of the channel wall dominates the diffusion stage within the channel. We conclude with a discussion of the challenges and future development trends of membrane separation technology for lithium recovery.

Graphical abstract: Mechanism of lithium ion selectivity through membranes: a brief review

Article information

Article type
Tutorial Review
Submitted
18 Okt. 2023
Accepted
06 Marts 2024
First published
06 Marts 2024
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol., 2024,10, 1305-1318

Mechanism of lithium ion selectivity through membranes: a brief review

J. Zhang, Q. Gao, B. Han and C. Zhou, Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol., 2024, 10, 1305 DOI: 10.1039/D3EW00769C

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications, without requesting further permission from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given and it is not used for commercial purposes.

To request permission to reproduce material from this article in a commercial publication, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party commercial publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements