An ion-selective hydrogel pump for high-throughput solar-powered lithium extraction.

Aqiang Chu, Xinke Zhang, Yuzhang Zhu, Kai Yang, Youjing Zhao, Teng Zhou, Shenxiang Zhang, Jian Jin, Lei Jiang

Abstract read

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Article in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Aqiang ChuState Key Laboratory of Bioinspired Interfacial Materials Science, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, China.

Xinke ZhangCenter for Soft Condensed Matter Physics and Interdisciplinary Research, School of Physical Science and Technology, Soochow University, Suzhou, China.

Yuzhang ZhuState Key Laboratory of Bioinspired Interfacial Materials Science, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7279-2903

Kai YangCenter for Soft Condensed Matter Physics and Interdisciplinary Research, School of Physical Science and Technology, Soochow University, Suzhou, China.

Youjing ZhaoKey Laboratory of Green and High-end Utilization of Salt Lake Resources, Qinghai Institute of Salt Lakes, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining, China.

Teng ZhouSchool of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Hainan University, Haikou, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8744-9083

Shenxiang ZhangState Key Laboratory of Bioinspired Interfacial Materials Science, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, China. sxzhang@suda.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2857-333X

Jian JinState Key Laboratory of Bioinspired Interfacial Materials Science, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, China. jjin@suda.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0429-300X

Lei JiangSuzhou Institute for Advanced Research, University of Science and Technology of China, Suzhou, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4579-728X

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The growing demand for lithium has underscored the urgency of developing efficient extraction technologies from brines. Conventional methods suffer from low efficiency and high energy consumption. Inspired by the selective ion uptake and storage mechanisms of Salicornia, we designed an ion-selective hydrogel pump (ISHP) system to achieve ultra-high throughput lithium extraction. ISHP consists of a crosslinked polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogel block and an ultrathin ion-selective polyamide (PA) membrane grown in situ on its outer surface. The ultra-strong hydration capacity of the hydrogel enables the generation of an osmotic pressure of up to 47.86 bar inside it under sunlight, providing a powerful driving force for the efficient uptake of Li

Identifiers

PMID42764333

DOI10.1038/s41467-026-76958-7

PMCPMC13590627

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.