Enhancing Lithium extraction via ionic liquid coupled electrochemical methods

The efficient recovery of lithium (Li + ) from salt lakes has become a pressing issue for the lithium battery industry. In this study, an electrochemically enhanced extraction system with industrialization potential was developed, which increased the separation efficiency of Li + by coupling an electric field with ionic liquid extraction. A promising 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium-2-thiophenecarbonyl trifluoroacetone ([C 4 mim][TTA]) extraction agent was developed. Furthermore, the functionalized ionic liquid (FIL) was dissolved in an ionic liquid mixture to further increase its extraction capacity. The separation performance and mechanisms of Li + through [C 4 mim][TTA] liquid–liquid extraction were investigated. The results showed that within a pH range greater than 2, [C 4 mim][TTA] had a very high separation efficiency for Li + . Additionally, liquid–liquid extraction in solutions simulating the concentrations of Li + , Na + , and K + found in salt lakes revealed very high Li + separation coefficients of β Li/K  = 3746 and β Li/Na  = 1287. Under an applied electric field of 2.4 V, the electrochemically enhanced extraction system achieved separation coefficients of β Li/K  = 6678 and β Li/Na  = 3068 within 2 h, which represent the highest reported values to date. In this study, a novel electrochemically coupled ionic liquid extraction system with potential for industrialization is proposed.