Collaborative Research: Selective Extraction of Lithium from Seawater using Structurally Modified Metal Oxide Layered Materials

合作研究：使用结构改性金属氧化物层状材料从海水中选择性提取锂

• 批准号: 2227164
• 负责人: Xiaowei Teng
• 金额: $ 37.69万
• 依托单位: Worcester Polytechnic Institute
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-08-01 至 2026-07-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2227164&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Selective; Extraction; Lithium; Collaborative; Research; Selective; Extraction; Lithium

Lithium is a vital component of many modern energy storage systems, including lithium-ion batteries. Demand for this critical mineral is growing rapidly, coinciding with the clean energy transition, and will soon outstrip lithium supplies at the current rate. Lithium production from land-based lithium sources (e.g., ore and brine) may be insufficient to meet the anticipated demand. Seawater is a promising, plentiful source of lithium, but recovering lithium from seawater is technologically challenging. Current recovery methods are limited by low extraction capacity, difficulty selectively separating lithium ions from chemically similar ions found in seawater, and high operation costs. Professor Xiaowei Teng at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and Professor Badri Narayanan at the University of Louisville (UL) aim to address these technological limitations by developing new classes of manganese oxide layered materials for the selective extraction of lithium from seawater using electrochemical methods. The investigators will integrate materials synthesis and characterization methods with electrochemical performance assessment and atomistic computational modeling to reveal how the material structure affects the cation transport behavior. The research approach lies at the interface of chemical engineering, materials science, computational chemistry, and electrochemistry, providing a valuable opportunity for cross-disciplinary training of undergraduate and graduate students. The project will also support outreach activities to increase the scientific engagement of high-school students and teachers. The project aims to understand the interplay between dopants, defect chemistry, ion-hydration, and ion transport in structurally modified birnessite (MnO2)-based layered materials on selective lithium extraction from seawater. The research approach will combine wet-chemistry synthesis, electrochemical experiments, operando X-ray characterization, and a variety of atomistic simulation techniques to identify the critical characteristics of MnO2-based electrodes that (a) favor insertion of lithium ions while rejecting the larger competing ions (e.g., sodium, magnesium), (b) promote kinetics of lithium-ion transport while suppressing diffusion of competing ions, and (c) enable high-capacity lithium-ion extraction at wide operation voltage windows while avoiding water dissociation. MnO2 structure, composition, defect concentration/distribution, nature of dopants, and interlayer distance, as well as synthesis conditions, will be examined. Undergraduate students from underrepresented groups in STEM will be recruited to participate in the research at the WPI and UL laboratories. A summer undergraduate student exchange program between the two laboratories will be initiated to broaden students’ exposure to new technical concepts and research environments. High-school science teachers will be invited to complete a seven-week summer research program to develop hands-on science learning pedagogy and materials and improve scientific literacy and engagement among their students.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

锂是许多现代储能系统的重要组成部分，包括锂离子电池。对这种关键矿物的需求正在迅速增长，与清洁能源过渡一致，并将以当前速率超过锂供应。锂锂来源（例如矿石和盐水）的锂生产可能不足以满足预期的需求。海水是一种有前途的锂来源，但是从海水中恢复锂在技术上具有挑战性。当前的恢复方法受到低提取能力的限制，难以选择性地将锂离子与海水中的化学相似离子和高运营成本分离。路易斯维尔大学（UL）的伍斯特理工学院（WPI）教授的小西奥维·滕（WPI）和巴德里·纳拉亚南教授的目标是通过使用电化学方法从海水中选择性地从海洋中开发新的锰氧化物氧化物分层材料来解决这些技术限制。研究人员将将材料合成和表征方法与电化学性能评估和原子计算建模相结合，以揭示材料结构如何影响阳离子运输行为。研究方法在于化学工程，材料科学，计算化学和电化学的界面，为本科和研究生的跨学科培训提供了宝贵的机会。该项目还将支持外展活动，以增加高中生和老师的科学参与。该项目旨在了解结构修饰的Birnessite（MNO2）在从海水中提取的选择性锂提取上的基于结构修饰的Birnessite（MNO2）的分层材料中，掺杂剂，缺陷化学，离子水和离子转运之间的相互作用。该研究方法将结合湿化学合成，电化学实验，操作X射线表征和各种原子模拟技术，以确定基于MNO2的电极的关键特征，这些电极（a）（a）倾向于插入锂离子，同时拒绝较大的竞争离子（例如，SODIUM）（例如，SODIUM），SODIUM（例如，MAGNESIUM），LITH-KIN（MAGNET）（BINET KIN）（BINET）（b）（b）（b）（b）（b）for for for for kin（b）竞争离子的扩散，以及（c）在宽大的操作电压窗户上启用高容量锂离子提取，同时避免水解离。将检查MNO2结构，组成，缺陷浓度/分布，掺杂剂的性质和层间距离以及合成条件。来自STEM中代表性不足小组的本科生将被招募参加WPI和UL实验室的研究。两个实验室之间的夏季学生交流计划将开始扩大学生对新的技术概念和研究环境的接触。高中科学教师将被邀请完成为期7周的夏季研究计划，以开发动手科学学习教学法和材料，并改善学生之间的科学文学和参与度。这项奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是通过基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛的影响审查标准来评估通过评估而被认为是宝贵的。