Research now demonstrates that solution-processable polymer membranes with hydrophilic subnanometre pores can selectively extract lithium ions from salt-lake brines, offering a potentially sustainable approach to meet the growing demand for lithium in energy storage applications.
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Fig. 1: Electrodialysis process for selective lithium extraction using hydrophilic subnanometre polymers of intrinsic microporosity (PIM) membranes.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Advanced Materials for Energy-Water Systems (AMEWS) Center, an Energy Frontier Research Center funded by the US Department of Energy, Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences under contract DE-AC02-06CH11357.
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Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division and Advanced Energy Technologies Directorate, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, IL, USA
Seth B. Darling
Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
Seth B. Darling
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Darling, S.B. Navigating the membrane maze for lithium extraction. Nat Water (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44221-025-00409-8
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Published:12 March 2025
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s44221-025-00409-8
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