Recent Advances on the Positively-Charged Nanofiltration Membranes for Mg<sup>2+</sup>/Li<sup>+</sup> Separation Through Interfacial Polymerization

The rapid development of the global energy industry has driven an escalating worldwide demand for lithium resources. As a major lithium source, salt lake brines contain abundant divalent ions that hinder efficient lithium extraction. Compared with conventional lithium recovery technologies, nanofilt...

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Main Authors: Xinyu Zeng, Chunchun Meng, Zihan Xu, Xinwu Li, Haochen Zhu, Guangming Li
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-06-01
Series:Nanomaterials
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/15/13/967
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author Xinyu Zeng
Chunchun Meng
Zihan Xu
Xinwu Li
Haochen Zhu
Guangming Li
author_facet Xinyu Zeng
Chunchun Meng
Zihan Xu
Xinwu Li
Haochen Zhu
Guangming Li
author_sort Xinyu Zeng
collection DOAJ
description The rapid development of the global energy industry has driven an escalating worldwide demand for lithium resources. As a major lithium source, salt lake brines contain abundant divalent ions that hinder efficient lithium extraction. Compared with conventional lithium recovery technologies, nanofiltration membranes emerge as an energy-efficient and environmentally friendly alternative. Over the past decade, interfacial polymerization has been widely adopted to fabricate nanofiltration membranes for lithium–magnesium separation, with studies confirming the superior performance of positively charged membranes in distinguishing monovalent and divalent cations. This review systematically summarizes recent advancements in positively charged nanofiltration membranes synthesized via interfacial polymerization for lithium–magnesium separation, categorizing the design strategies into five distinct approaches. The correlations between intrinsic membrane structural characteristics and separation performance are critically analyzed. Furthermore, current challenges and future research directions are discussed to provide new perspectives for developing high-performance positively charged composite nanofiltration membranes. This work aims to inspire innovative designs and accelerate the practical implementation of nanofiltration technology in lithium extraction from salt lake brines.
format Article
id doaj-art-22fd6239564041c8b5171042eda85fae
institution Kabale University
issn 2079-4991
language English
publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Nanomaterials
spelling doaj-art-22fd6239564041c8b5171042eda85fae2025-08-20T03:28:32ZengMDPI AGNanomaterials2079-49912025-06-01151396710.3390/nano15130967Recent Advances on the Positively-Charged Nanofiltration Membranes for Mg<sup>2+</sup>/Li<sup>+</sup> Separation Through Interfacial PolymerizationXinyu Zeng0Chunchun Meng1Zihan Xu2Xinwu Li3Haochen Zhu4Guangming Li5State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, Key Laboratory of Yangtze River Water Environment, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Rd., Shanghai 200092, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, Key Laboratory of Yangtze River Water Environment, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Rd., Shanghai 200092, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, Key Laboratory of Yangtze River Water Environment, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Rd., Shanghai 200092, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, Key Laboratory of Yangtze River Water Environment, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Rd., Shanghai 200092, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, Key Laboratory of Yangtze River Water Environment, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Rd., Shanghai 200092, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, Key Laboratory of Yangtze River Water Environment, Ministry of Education, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, 1239 Siping Rd., Shanghai 200092, ChinaThe rapid development of the global energy industry has driven an escalating worldwide demand for lithium resources. As a major lithium source, salt lake brines contain abundant divalent ions that hinder efficient lithium extraction. Compared with conventional lithium recovery technologies, nanofiltration membranes emerge as an energy-efficient and environmentally friendly alternative. Over the past decade, interfacial polymerization has been widely adopted to fabricate nanofiltration membranes for lithium–magnesium separation, with studies confirming the superior performance of positively charged membranes in distinguishing monovalent and divalent cations. This review systematically summarizes recent advancements in positively charged nanofiltration membranes synthesized via interfacial polymerization for lithium–magnesium separation, categorizing the design strategies into five distinct approaches. The correlations between intrinsic membrane structural characteristics and separation performance are critically analyzed. Furthermore, current challenges and future research directions are discussed to provide new perspectives for developing high-performance positively charged composite nanofiltration membranes. This work aims to inspire innovative designs and accelerate the practical implementation of nanofiltration technology in lithium extraction from salt lake brines.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/15/13/967nanofiltration membraneinterfacial polymerizationpositively-charged NF membraneMg<sup>2+</sup>/Li<sup>+</sup> separation
spellingShingle Xinyu Zeng
Chunchun Meng
Zihan Xu
Xinwu Li
Haochen Zhu
Guangming Li
Recent Advances on the Positively-Charged Nanofiltration Membranes for Mg<sup>2+</sup>/Li<sup>+</sup> Separation Through Interfacial Polymerization
Nanomaterials
nanofiltration membrane
interfacial polymerization
positively-charged NF membrane
Mg<sup>2+</sup>/Li<sup>+</sup> separation
title Recent Advances on the Positively-Charged Nanofiltration Membranes for Mg<sup>2+</sup>/Li<sup>+</sup> Separation Through Interfacial Polymerization
title_full Recent Advances on the Positively-Charged Nanofiltration Membranes for Mg<sup>2+</sup>/Li<sup>+</sup> Separation Through Interfacial Polymerization
title_fullStr Recent Advances on the Positively-Charged Nanofiltration Membranes for Mg<sup>2+</sup>/Li<sup>+</sup> Separation Through Interfacial Polymerization
title_full_unstemmed Recent Advances on the Positively-Charged Nanofiltration Membranes for Mg<sup>2+</sup>/Li<sup>+</sup> Separation Through Interfacial Polymerization
title_short Recent Advances on the Positively-Charged Nanofiltration Membranes for Mg<sup>2+</sup>/Li<sup>+</sup> Separation Through Interfacial Polymerization
title_sort recent advances on the positively charged nanofiltration membranes for mg sup 2 sup li sup sup separation through interfacial polymerization
topic nanofiltration membrane
interfacial polymerization
positively-charged NF membrane
Mg<sup>2+</sup>/Li<sup>+</sup> separation
url https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/15/13/967
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