Scalable crosslinking-regulated membranes with ultra-high Li+/Mg2+ selectivity for lithium recovery from brines
Abstract Membrane-based separation has emerged as a competitive technology for lithium extraction from salt-lake brines. However, its industrial implementation remains limited by the low Li + /Mg 2+ selectivity of conventional membranes. In this work, we demonstrate that regulation of the crosslinking degree during membrane formation enables subnanometer pore size control within the narrow window required for Li + /Mg 2+ separation. Under electrodialysis conditions, the membrane achieved a Li + /Mg 2+ separation factor of up to 6454 at an Mg/Li mass ratio of 140, outperforming previously reported membranes for Li + /Mg 2+ separation. Importantly, the membrane maintained a Li + /Mg 2+ separation factor above 1200 in untreated natural salt-lake brine, despite the high Mg/Li mass ratio (Mg/Li = 87) and the presence of multiple competing ions. Fabrication of a 25 cm × 35 cm membrane and stable performance over 15 days of repeated operation further supported the practical viability of this approach. The practical membrane design strategy reported in this work can inspire the development of ion-selective membranes with precisely regulated subnanometer pores for a wide range of sustainable separation processes.
Authors
- Changting Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8897-9780)
- Ahmed Al Raeesi
- Turki N. Baroud (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6430-9128)
- Eydhah Almatrafi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2009-8335)
- Wenjie Kuang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7836-0557)
- Jianping Cao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8633-388X)
- Khaled Bin Bandar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5132-9648)
- Bolun Peng
- Jinhua Feng
- Mariam Al Ali Al‐Maadeed (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2030-2159)
- Lingyue Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6011-1381)
- Saud A. Aldrees (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4915-7565)
- Mohammad K. Hassan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5316-2463)
- Mohammed A. Alhussaini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2871-1387)
- Dalal Matar Al Shamsi
- Wenbin Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0541-6609)
- Hongjun Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4714-8809)
- Kun Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-9961-1968)
- Yunbo Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6224-2481)
- Peng Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0856-0865)
- Guoshen Zeng
- Yang Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0985-8751)
- Fengliang Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5270-964X)
- Rongzhen Ma
- Bei Liu
- Zhen Wang
- Yueyue Li
Institutions
- University of Science and Technology of China (CN)
- King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (SA)
- King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (SA)
- Hong Kong Polytechnic University (HK)
- Sun Yat-sen University (CN)
- King Abdulaziz University (SA)
- United Arab Emirates University (AE)
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation Technology (CN)
- Qatar University (QA)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2026-10-31
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-79061-z
- Primary Topic
- Membrane-based Ion Separation Techniques
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00