Multistage regulation of LiMn2O4 electrode for electrochemical lithium extraction from salt-lake

The sustainable development of future energy relies significantly on the abundant lithium resources present in salt-lake brines. LiMn2O4 (LMO) electrochemical Li+ pump has garnered substantial attention due to its capacity to efficiently extract lithium resources from aqueous solutions with minimal energy consumption. However, the industrial application of LMO electrodes is often limited by Mn dissolving during cycles, as well as the complex and variable brine environment. To address these challenges, this study conducted a multistage regulation of LMO electrodes. Originally, the sol-gel technique was used to prepare CePO4 loading LMO. Due to CePO4 rivet load reforming LMO surface charge, the best-performing 1 wt% CePO4-loaded LMO exhibited a remarkable capacity retention rate of 83.8 % after 30 cycles. Subsequently, a comprehensive hydrophilic modification was applied to the entire electrode. 20%PAA-1CP-LMO//Ag system displayed an admirably release capacity of 24.7 mg·g−1 in Zabuye real brine characterized by an ultra-low Li/Na ratio, with Li/Na ratio in recovery solution reaching as high as 0.62.