Solar-driven pump for simultaneous lithium capture and freshwater generation from salt-lake brine

doi:10.1016/j.jmst.2025.07.054

Abstract

Abstract: As a vital energy metal, lithium plays a crucial role in new energy technologies, particularly as an electrode material for lithium-ion batteries. While salt-lake brines represent abundant lithium resources that can be extracted through environmentally friendly adsorption methods, conventional approaches are limited by low adsorption capacity and slow kinetics. To overcome these limitations, we have developed a photothermal hydrogel membrane incorporating carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and lithium ion-sieves (H₄Ti₅O₁₂) for concurrent lithium extraction and freshwater production. The membrane is fabricated via a straightforward dip-coating and crosslinking approach on cotton cloth, yielding a porous structure that facilitates adsorption site exposure and lithium ions transport. A unique vertically aligned bridge configuration is implemented to prevent salt scaling. Under 1 sun illumination, the system achieves an exceptional lithium adsorption capacity of 50.1 ± 1.6 mg g^‒1 within 5 h, enabled by efficient photothermal conversion and evaporation-induced lithium enrichment. The evaporator exhibits outstanding adsorption selectivity, operational stability, and cycling performance when processing salt-lake brines. This work presents an innovative approach for simultaneous lithium recovery and freshwater production from salt-lake brines, offering significant potential for sustainable resource utilization.

Key words: Lithium extraction, Photothermal conversion, Water evaporation, Adsorption

Zikang Zhou, Huina Wang, Qianqian Li, Rui Gao, Kai Feng, Ruikun Pan, Jinping Qu, Jiang Gong, Ran Niu. Solar-driven pump for simultaneous lithium capture and freshwater generation from salt-lake brine[J]. J. Mater. Sci. Technol., 2026, 254: 299-306.

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