Highly efficient lithium adsorption and stable isotope separation by metal–organic frameworks

The effects of a series of MOFs on the adsorption and separation of lithium isotopes were investigated in this paper. Seven kinds of MOF were prepared, and the characterization studies of MIL-100(Fe) before and after adsorption by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) demonstrated the potential chemical interaction between Fe and Li. The influence of metal ions, counter-ions and solvents on the adsorption capacity and separation factor was investigated. The maximum separation factor can reach 1.048 ± 0.001. MIL-100(Fe) also has good regeneration performance.