Phys.org June 8, 2024 Understanding how particle features influence Li and sodium (Na) co-intercalation is crucial for system design and enhancing Li selectivity. A team of researchers in the US (University of Chicago, Illinois Institute of Technology, Argonne National Laboratory, University of New York at Buffalo) investigated a series of FePO4 particles with various features and revealed the importance of harnessing kinetic and chemo-mechanical barrier difference between lithiation and sodiation to promote selectivity. The thermodynamic preference of FePO4 provided baseline of selectivity while the particle features were critical to induce different kinetic pathways and barriers, resulting in different Li to […]
Category Archives: Lithium
Combining diamond and lithium niobate as a core component for future quantum technologies
Nanowerk December 15, 2023 Negatively charged group-IV color centers in diamond are promising candidates for quantum memories as they combine long storage times with excellent optical emission properties and an optically addressable spin state. However, as a material, diamond lacks the many functionalities needed to realize scalable quantum systems. Thin-film lithium niobate (TFLN), in contrast, offers several useful photonic nonlinearities, including the electro-optic effect, piezoelectricity, and capabilities for periodically poled quasi-phase matching. Researchers at Stanford University have presented highly efficient heterogeneous integration of diamond nanobeams containing negatively charged silicon-vacancy (SiV) centers with TFLN waveguides. They observed greater than 90% transmission […]
Revolutionizing lithium production on a string
Science Daily September 7, 2023 A team of researchers in the US (Princeton University, University of Maryland) has developed an efficient and self-concentrating crystallization method for the selective extraction of lithium from both brine and seawater. The sequential and separable crystallization of cation species with different concentrations and solubilities was enabled by a twisted and slender 3D porous natural cellulose fibre structure via capillary and evaporative flows. The process exhibited an evaporation rate as high as 9.8 kg m−2 h−1, and it selectively concentrated lithium by orders of magnitude. They characterized the composition and spatial distribution of crystals, and a transport model deciphered […]
Mapping Australia’s hidden lithium reserves
Phys.org August 31, 2023 Researchers in Australia used a digital soil mapping framework to combine data from recent geochemical surveys and environmental covariates that affect soil formation to predict and map aqua-regia-extractable Li content across the 7.6×106 km2 area of Australia. Catchment outlet sediment samples were collected with both top (0–10 cm depth) and bottom (on average ∼60–80 cm depth). They developed 50 bootstrap models using a cubist regression tree algorithm for each depth. The spatial prediction models were validated on an independent Northern Australia Geochemical Survey dataset, showing a good prediction for the top depth. The model for the bottom depth is […]