The Adsorption Capacity and Binding of Titanium-Based Lithium Adsorbent H2TiO3 to Li+

Abstract

The titanium-based adsorbent is prepared by acid-washing the precursor of the titanium-based adsorbent and is capable of efficiently and selectively separating Li⁺ from brine. In this study, the band structure, density of states, and binding energy of the HTO titanium-based lithium adsorbent were analyzed using first-principles calculations. The results indicate that during the adsorption process, HTO adsorbs Li⁺ by breaking the O─H bonds and forming O─Li bonds, with a binding energy of −0.034 eV, demonstrating high stability. Experimental results show that using 160 mL of 0.19 mol/L hydrochloric acid in the acid-washing process of the titanium-based adsorbent yields the optimal adsorption capacity of HTO, reaching 27.61 mg·g⁻¹ after 4 h. This study is the first to highlight the significance of H⁺ concentration during acid washing in enhancing the adsorption capacity of titanium-based adsorbents, which is of great importance for the effective extraction of lithium resources.