The Adsorption Capacity and Binding of Titanium‐Based Lithium Adsorbent H2TiO3 to Li+

Abstract The titanium‐based adsorbent is prepared by acid‐washing the precursor of the titanium‐based adsorbent and is capable of efficiently and selectively separating Li⁺ from brine. In this study, the band structure, density of states, and binding energy of the HTO titanium‐based lithium adsorbent were analyzed using first‐principles calculations. The results indicate that during the adsorption process, HTO adsorbs Li⁺ by breaking the O─H bonds and forming O─Li bonds, with a binding energy of −0.034 eV, demonstrating high stability. Experimental results show that using 160 mL of 0.19 mol/L hydrochloric acid in the acid‐washing process of the titanium‐based adsorbent yields the optimal adsorption capacity of HTO, reaching 27.61 mg·g⁻¹ after 4 h. This study is the first to highlight the significance of H + concentration during acid washing in enhancing the adsorption capacity of titanium‐based adsorbents, which is of great importance for the effective extraction of lithium resources.