Acta Phys. -Chim. Sin. ›› 2026, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (2): 100130.doi: 10.1016/j.actphy.2025.100130

Special Issue: Electrochemical Separation and Recycling

• ARTICLE • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Structurally engineered solvent-free LiFePO4 electrodes via hot-pressing with efficient ion transport pathways for lithium extraction from brine

Hui Zhang1, Zijian Zhao1, Yajing Wang1, Kai Ni1, Yanfei Wang1,*(), Liang Zhu2, Jianyun Liu3,*(), Xiaoyu Zhao1,2,*()   

  1. 1 Tianjin Key Laboratory of Brine Chemical Engineering and Resource Eco-utilization, College of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin 300457, China
    2 State Key Laboratory of Bio-based Fiber Materials, Tianjin University of Science and Technology, Tianjin 300457, China
    3 College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Textile Pollution Controlling Engineering Centre of Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China
  • Received:2025-06-06 Revised:2025-07-08 Accepted:2025-07-14 Published:2025-12-03
  • Contact: Email: xyz@tust.edu.cn (Xiaoyu Zhao)wangyanfei@tust.edu.cn (Yanfei Wang)jianyun.liu@dhu.edu.cn (Jianyun Liu)

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Abstract:

The development of high-mass-loading electrodes with robust ion transport characteristics is crucial for efficient electrochemical lithium extraction from brine. Herein, we report a solvent-free hot-pressing strategy to fabricate structurally engineered LiFePO4 electrodes with enhanced electrochemical performance and mechanical stability. By integrating etched titanium foil as a current collector and multi-walled carbon nanotubes as a conductive additive, a three-dimensionally interconnected porous structure was formed, enabling accelerated ion diffusion and improved structural integrity. Micro-CT and Avizo-based analysis revealed that the dry press-coated electrodes possess higher porosity, lower tortuosity and more connected ion channels compared to conventional slurry-coated electrodes. Electrochemical tests demonstrated a significantly higher lithium-ion diffusion coefficient and lower charge transfer resistance of the dry press-coated electrodes. Under optimized conditions, the dry press-coated electrodes, possessing a mass loading of 19.4 mg cm-2, delivered a lithium extraction capacity of 4.13 mg cm-2 with a purity of 93.91% over 15 cycles in simulated Uyuni brine. This work establishes a scalable hot-pressing method and elucidates its fundamental physicochemical advantages for lithium-selective electrochemical separation.

Key words: Hot-pressing, Solvent-free, Ions transport pathways, Electrochemical lithium extraction