Single Lithium-Ion Conductor Decorated LiMn₂O₄ with High Selectivity and Stability for Electrochemical Lithium Extraction

Abstract

Spinel LiMn 2 O 4 (LMO) is commonly used for electrochemically extracting lithium ions from brine. However, its cycle stability is significantly reduced due to Mn 2+ dissolution. Here, we report high-performance LMO particles decorated by Li 1.5 Al 0.5 Ge 1.5 (PO 4 ) 3 (LAGP) as an electrode for electrochemical lithium extraction. Compared with bare sample, the modified electrode presents higher Li-ion selectivity because LAGP is a single Li-ion conductor, and as a result of avoiding the cointercalation of other ions in brine, the sample exhibits a higher Li-ion extraction capacity of 2.44 mmol•g −1 . The cycling stability is also improved in LMO with LAGP coating by alleviating the loss of manganese, indicating a reduced Mn loss of 0.20% after 100 cycles compared to the LAGP free counterpart of 0.47%. Our work demonstrates an effective method for lithium purification from brine, and the detailed mechanism is also studied systematically.