Du Yuyin, Ghosh Amit, Teeuwen Paula C P, Wales David J, Nitschke Jonathan R
Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1EW, United Kingdom.
J Am Chem Soc. 2025 Jun 18;147(24):20205-20211. doi: 10.1021/jacs.5c05885. Epub 2025 Jun 9.
Humanity's replacement of fossil-fuel energy with renewable electricity will require extensive deployment of lithium batteries, which necessitates an increase in the rate of production of this vital metal. Current extraction methods from brines and ores are very energy-intensive, as are recycling methods. Here we report a novel Li sandwich structure in which five lithium ions are bound between the azobipyridine groups of two pentagonal ligands. The geometry of these ligands leads to the selectivity for binding Li in the presence of Na and K. Upon illumination, the -azobipyridine moieties of the ligands isomerize to their form, promoting the release of free Li as the sandwich comes apart. The selective complexation of Li, and its photostimulated release, were used as the basis of a cycle for selectively extracting and releasing Li ions from a mixture with Na and K. Solar energy may thus be used directly to purify this metal, which is essential for storing increasingly cheap electricity produced through renewable means.
人类用可再生电力取代化石燃料能源需要大规模部署锂电池，这就需要提高这种关键金属的产量。目前从盐水和矿石中提取锂的方法以及回收方法都非常耗能。在此，我们报道了一种新型的锂夹心结构，其中五个锂离子结合在两个五边形配体的偶氮联吡啶基团之间。这些配体的几何结构导致在存在钠和钾的情况下对锂具有选择性结合。光照后，配体的偶氮联吡啶部分异构化为其反式形式，随着夹心结构分离促进游离锂的释放。锂的选择性络合及其光刺激释放被用作从与钠和钾的混合物中选择性提取和释放锂离子循环的基础。太阳能因此可直接用于提纯这种金属，它对于存储通过可再生方式生产的日益廉价的电力至关重要。
