Volume 21, Issue 3 2406607
Research Article

Self-Oxidated Hybrid Conductive Network Enables Efficient Electrochemical Lithium Extraction Under High-Altitude Environment

Zhixin Wan

Zhixin Wan

College of Materials Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610064 P. R. China

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Ziqi Liu

Ziqi Liu

College of Materials Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610064 P. R. China

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Yiyang Xiao

Yiyang Xiao

College of Materials Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610064 P. R. China

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Qinqin Ruan

Qinqin Ruan

Beijing Key Laboratory of Ionic Liquids Clean Process, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190 P. R. China

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Qian Wang

Qian Wang

College of Materials Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610064 P. R. China

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Haitao Zhang

Haitao Zhang

Beijing Key Laboratory of Ionic Liquids Clean Process, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190 P. R. China

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Meng Yao

Corresponding Author

Meng Yao

College of Materials Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610064 P. R. China

E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]

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Yun Zhang

Corresponding Author

Yun Zhang

College of Materials Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, 610064 P. R. China

E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]

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First published: 04 October 2024
Citations: 1

Abstract

The electrochemical deintercalation method has been considered as an effective way to address the demand for lithium resources due to its environmental friendliness, high selectivity, and high efficiency. However, the performance of electrochemical lithium extraction is closely dependent on the electrode material and needs to be compatible under plateau environments with high-altitude and low-temperature. Herein, an in situ self-oxidation method is conducted to construct a hybrid conductive network on the surface of LiFePO4 (LFP-HN). The introduction of a hybrid conductive network enhanced the interfacial electron/lithium-ion transfer. In addition, structural stability is strengthened through suppressing the intercalation of impurity cations. Consequently, the LFP-HN delivered extremely high lithium extraction capacity (27.42 mg g−1), low energy consumption (4.91 Wh mol−1), and superior purity (91.05%) in Baqiancuo real brine (4788 m, −10 °C). What's more, LFP-HN-based large-scale prototypes are constructed and operated at Baqiancuo, which is calculated to extract 25 kg Lithium Carbonate Equivalent per cycle (4.55 h, 100 pairs of plates). Based on the excellent performance, the modification strategy developed in this work can be a promising solution for industrial lithium extraction under high-altitude environment.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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