Enhancing hydrophilicity of thick electrodes via sulfonation reaction for lithium extraction from salt lake
Junyi Zhang (Cheng Du University of Technology)
Luxiang Ma (Cheng Du University of Technology)
Chunxi Hai (Cheng Du University of Technology)
Tiandong Chen (Cheng Du University of Technology)
Yawen Gao (Cheng Du University of Technology)
You Xu (Cheng Du University of Technology)
Wencheng Pan (Cheng Du University of Technology)
Ju Chen (Cheng Du University of Technology)
Yanxia Sun (Cheng Du University of Technology)
Shengde Dong (Cheng Du University of Technology)
Xin He (Cheng Du University of Technology)
Qi Xu (Cheng Du University of Technology)
Xiaowang Wu (Qinghai Zhongxin Guoan Lithium Development Co., Ltd.)
Caixiong Quan (Qinghai Zhongxin Guoan Lithium Development Co., Ltd.)
Hongli Su (TU Delft - Civil Engineering & Geosciences)
Yuan Zhou (Cheng Du University of Technology)
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Abstract
Thick electrodes greatly enhance lithium extraction capacity. However, with the increase of active substances loading, the traditional thick electrodes are more hydrophobic, severely limiting the utilization of active substances. Hence, a sulfonation process to functionalize thick electrodes was applied to enhance their wettability (~45 mg·cm−1) in brine. Experimental and theoretical results show that the lithium extraction capacity of thick electrodes can be significantly improved by enhancing the electrodes hydrophilicity. At 0.8 V, the S-PVDF electrode's capacity for lithium extraction in simulated brine (41.72 mg·g−1) significantly surpassed the PVDF electrode (35.72 mg·g−1), and it also performed well in actual brine (28.8 mg·g−1). The Mg2+/Li+ ratio in actual brine dropped from 65 to 0.37, achieving effective magnesia‑lithium separation. This method offers a novel approach to developing high-efficiency lithium extraction thick electrodes.