Issue 28, 2025

Lithium extraction from low-grade brines via strain-induced electronic structure modulation of MnO2 nanorods through Mg incorporation

Abstract

In this study, the incorporation of Mg2+ induced the transformation of MnO2 from the original cubic [MnO6] octahedron to a flattened conformation (FLA-MnO2). The flattened conformation mitigated structural deformation of the [Mn3+·O6] octahedron by inhibiting the J–T aberration during the reduction process of Mn4+, thereby improving the selective adsorption capacity of lithium. When used in hybrid capacitive deionization (HCDI), FLA-MnO2 exhibited a high Li+ adsorption capacity of 30.14 mg g−1 in 32.74 mg L−1 Li+ ion solution, with low energy consumption of 0.45 Wh g−1. Notably, the FLA-MnO2‖AC HCDI cell exhibited high stability, maintaining 82% of its capacity over 100 cycles. This was evidenced by the 82% capacity retention and low Mn loss (1.3%) over 100 cycles. Finally, the excellent selective extraction performance of Li+ ions was demonstrated in Lop Nor, the low-grade original brine of the XieLi salt flats. The calculated separation factors for Li+/Na+, Li+/K+, Li+/Ca2+, and Li+/Mg2+ reached impressive values of 4.37, 3.75, 3.24, and 2.11, respectively, making the Lop Nor a candidate electrode for lithium extraction from low-grade raw brines.

Graphical abstract: Lithium extraction from low-grade brines via strain-induced electronic structure modulation of MnO2 nanorods through Mg incorporation

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
10 Mac 2025
Accepted
27 Mei 2025
First published
18 Jun 2025

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2025,13, 22470-22482

Lithium extraction from low-grade brines via strain-induced electronic structure modulation of MnO2 nanorods through Mg incorporation

Y. Bao, Y. Ling, Z. Ji, H. Zhou, S. Song, F. Jia, J. Li and M. Quintana, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2025, 13, 22470 DOI: 10.1039/D5TA01941A

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, 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 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