Green lithium: photoelectrochemical extraction
Abstract Lithium (Li) is an essential element in modern energy production and storage devices. Technology to extract Li from seawater, which contains ~ 230 billion tons of Li, offers a solution to the widespread concern regarding quantitative and geographical limitations of future Li supplies. To ob...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SpringerOpen
2023-07-01
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| Series: | PhotoniX |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s43074-023-00100-9 |
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| author | Zhongxiao Li Zhen Li Hao Huang Yunduo Yao Bilawal Khan Ye Zhu Kuo-Wei Huang Zhiping Lai Jr-Hau He |
| author_facet | Zhongxiao Li Zhen Li Hao Huang Yunduo Yao Bilawal Khan Ye Zhu Kuo-Wei Huang Zhiping Lai Jr-Hau He |
| author_sort | Zhongxiao Li |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Lithium (Li) is an essential element in modern energy production and storage devices. Technology to extract Li from seawater, which contains ~ 230 billion tons of Li, offers a solution to the widespread concern regarding quantitative and geographical limitations of future Li supplies. To obtain green Li from seawater, we propose an unassisted photoelectrochemical (PEC) Li extraction system based on an III-V-based triple-junction (3J) photoelectrode and a Li-ion selective membrane with only sunlight as an input. A light-harvesting/catalysis decoupling scheme yielded a 3J photoelectrode with excellent light-harvesting and catalysis reaction capabilities and superb stability over the 840 h of the extraction process. It allows the system to successfully enrich seawater Li by 4,350 times (i.e., from 0.18 ppm to 783.56 ppm) after three extraction stages. The overall reaction of the unassisted PEC green Li extraction system achieved 2.08 mg kJ−1 of solar-to-Li efficiency and 3.65% of solar-to-hydrogen efficiency. Graphical Abstract Photoelectrochemical (PEC) lithium extraction device is designed to explore lithium from seawater for the first time. The PEC cell with a triple-junction (InGaP/GaAs/Ge) photoelectrode and light-harvesting/catalysis decoupling scheme is constructed, offering a suitable operating potential and superb stability to the membrane-based extraction process in the seawater. The device can successfully enrich lithium by 4,350 times (from 0.18 to 783.56 ppm). |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T23:21:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8e91add7ecbe4239a1eada5dac85de48 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2662-1991 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T23:21:28Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | SpringerOpen |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PhotoniX |
| spelling | doaj.art-8e91add7ecbe4239a1eada5dac85de482023-07-16T11:27:02ZengSpringerOpenPhotoniX2662-19912023-07-014111610.1186/s43074-023-00100-9Green lithium: photoelectrochemical extractionZhongxiao Li0Zhen Li1Hao Huang2Yunduo Yao3Bilawal Khan4Ye Zhu5Kuo-Wei Huang6Zhiping Lai7Jr-Hau He8Department of Materials Science and Engineering, City University of Hong KongDivision of Physical Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)Division of Physical Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)Department of Applied Physics, Research Institute for Smart Energy, The Hong Kong Polytechnic UniversityDepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, City University of Hong KongDepartment of Applied Physics, Research Institute for Smart Energy, The Hong Kong Polytechnic UniversityDivision of Physical Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)Division of Physical Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)Department of Materials Science and Engineering, City University of Hong KongAbstract Lithium (Li) is an essential element in modern energy production and storage devices. Technology to extract Li from seawater, which contains ~ 230 billion tons of Li, offers a solution to the widespread concern regarding quantitative and geographical limitations of future Li supplies. To obtain green Li from seawater, we propose an unassisted photoelectrochemical (PEC) Li extraction system based on an III-V-based triple-junction (3J) photoelectrode and a Li-ion selective membrane with only sunlight as an input. A light-harvesting/catalysis decoupling scheme yielded a 3J photoelectrode with excellent light-harvesting and catalysis reaction capabilities and superb stability over the 840 h of the extraction process. It allows the system to successfully enrich seawater Li by 4,350 times (i.e., from 0.18 ppm to 783.56 ppm) after three extraction stages. The overall reaction of the unassisted PEC green Li extraction system achieved 2.08 mg kJ−1 of solar-to-Li efficiency and 3.65% of solar-to-hydrogen efficiency. Graphical Abstract Photoelectrochemical (PEC) lithium extraction device is designed to explore lithium from seawater for the first time. The PEC cell with a triple-junction (InGaP/GaAs/Ge) photoelectrode and light-harvesting/catalysis decoupling scheme is constructed, offering a suitable operating potential and superb stability to the membrane-based extraction process in the seawater. The device can successfully enrich lithium by 4,350 times (from 0.18 to 783.56 ppm).https://doi.org/10.1186/s43074-023-00100-9PhotoelectrochemicalUnassisted Li extractionSeawaterGreen Li |
| spellingShingle | Zhongxiao Li Zhen Li Hao Huang Yunduo Yao Bilawal Khan Ye Zhu Kuo-Wei Huang Zhiping Lai Jr-Hau He Green lithium: photoelectrochemical extraction PhotoniX Photoelectrochemical Unassisted Li extraction Seawater Green Li |
| title | Green lithium: photoelectrochemical extraction |
| title_full | Green lithium: photoelectrochemical extraction |
| title_fullStr | Green lithium: photoelectrochemical extraction |
| title_full_unstemmed | Green lithium: photoelectrochemical extraction |
| title_short | Green lithium: photoelectrochemical extraction |
| title_sort | green lithium photoelectrochemical extraction |
| topic | Photoelectrochemical Unassisted Li extraction Seawater Green Li |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s43074-023-00100-9 |
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