Authors
Liang Feng, Shuhao An, Xin Wang, Yanxiong Ren, Shumei Wang, Xiaole Li, Gilles Lubineau, Zhen Li, Ben Hang Yin, Zhiping Lai
Published in
Nature communications. Volume 17. Issue 1. Jul 24, 2026. Epub Jul 24, 2026.
Abstract
Lithium superionic conductors such as Li3xLa2/3-xTiO3 (LLTO) enable rapid and selective lithium-ion transport through their crystalline frameworks and have been widely explored for lithium extraction. However, their implementation in membrane-based separations is hindered by the need for high-temperature sintering ( > 1000 °C), which leads to high energy consumption and potential lithium volatilization, thereby compromising structural integrity and scalability. Here, we report a structurally integrated composite membrane by embedding LLTO nanoparticles into a ZIF-62 glass matrix via a low-temperature melt-casting strategy, yielding a dense, defect-free membrane with intimate interfacial integration and improved mechanical robustness. Systematic investigations across a wide composition range reveal effective transport channels are highly restricted until a critical content is reached, after which an extensive interconnected LLTO network forms. The optimized membrane exhibits high lithium selectivity and delivers a Li/Mg selectivity of up to ~59,000 in Red Sea water under electrochemical operation, while maintaining stable lithium extraction performance across diverse natural brines. This study establishes a scalable membrane design strategy with good processability, offering broader opportunities for not only lithium extraction, but also ion-selective membranes in electrochemical separations and energy storage systems.
PMID:
42509241
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 28 Jul 2026.
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