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    Post-transition metal/polymer composites for the separation and sensing of alkali metal ions

    Year: 2021

    Journal: J. Mater. Chem. A, Volume 9, SEP 21, page 19854–19864

    Authors: Merhebi, Salma; Mohammad, Munirah; Mayyas, Mohannad; Abbasi, Roozbeh; Zhang, Chengchen; Cai, Shengxiang; Centurion, Franco; Xie, Wanjie; Cao, Zhenbang; Tang, Junma; Rahim, Md Arifur; Zhang, Jin; Razmjou, Amir; Leslie, Greg; Kalantar-Zadeh, Kourosh; Tang, Jianbo; Allioux, Francois-Marie

    Organizations: Australian Research Council (ARC) Laureate Fellowship [FL180100053]

    The separation and sensing of alkali metal ions from aqueous lithium resources is of great importance for building future renewable and lithium-based energy storage technologies. As such, interest arises for the development of functional composites selective to ionic lithium (Li+) over sodium (Na+) and potassium (K+) that allows for a range of low carbon-footprint sensing and recovery processes. Here, selective separation of Li+ from aqueous mixtures of Na+ and K+ ions using polyvinyl alcohol/maleic acid composites was enhanced by the inclusion as nano-additives of post-transition metals gallium (Ga) and indium (In), together with their alloys and oxidized species, in the composite casting process. The co-addition of Ga and In resulted in the spontaneous formation of Ga oxides and hydroxides while In remained in the metallic state. This Ga-In composite was stable in aqueous solutions containing a high concentration (0.1 M) of mixed alkali metal ions over 5 days and achieved exceptionally high selectivities of Li+ over Na+ (3.8 +/- 0.1) and K+ (7.1 +/- 0.1). Results from an electrochemical sensing platform technique revealed that Li+ selectivity was in the same order as the diffusion rates. This work demonstrated that the low-melting-point post-transition metal alloy enables a one-step low energy fabrication of selective polymeric composites with diverse applications for energy, sensing and separation industries. The work has implications for the efficient manufacture of renewable and lithium-based energy storage technologies.
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