Our study on designing nanocomposite ion-exchange membranes for precise lithium recovery has been published in Nature Communications.
In this collaborative study led by the Qilin Li group at Rice University, we report a thin-film nanocomposite cation exchange membrane that achieves exceptional selectivity for lithium over competing cations such as sodium and calcium. The membrane incorporates amine-functionalized lithium titanium oxide nanoparticles into an ultrathin polyamide layer using a scalable interfacial polymerization process. The resulting architecture creates lithium-exclusive transport pathways, enabling Li⁺/Na⁺ and Li⁺/Ca²⁺ selectivities among the highest reported to date. This work opens a pathway for energy-efficient, chemical-free lithium extraction using electrodialysis.
