Hydrothermal synthesis and characterization of titanium dioxide nanotubes as novel lithium adsorbents

The ion exchange process is a promising method for lithium extraction from brine and seawater having low concentrations of this element. To achieve this goal, it is vital to use an effective adsorbent with maximum lithium adsorption potential together with a stable structure during extraction and insertion of the ions. In this study, titanium dioxide and then lithium titanate spinel with nanotube morphology was synthesized via a simple two-step hydrothermal process. The produced Li4Ti5O12 spinel ternary oxide nanotube with about 70 nm diameter was then treated with dilute acidic solution in order to prepare an adsorbent suitable for lithium adsorption from local brine. Morphological and phase analysis of the obtained nanostructured samples were done by using transmission and scanning electron microscopes along with X-ray diffraction. Lithium ion exchange capacity of this adsorbent was finally evaluated by means of adsorption isotherm. The results showed titanium dioxide adsorbent could recover 39.43 mg/g of the lithium present in 120 mg/L of lithium solution.