​Concentrating Lithium from seawater using LLTiO and cycling the charge 

 Sodium is about 100,000x more concentrated in seawater than Lithium. Sodium and Lithium have very similar properties so it is very difficult to just extract Lithium from seawater, but this is just what a team of researchers from Stanford University have done. Using electrolysis the scientists coated the electrodes with lithium lanthanum titanium oxide, and because the lithium ions are smaller than sodium ions , they can easily pass through and into the electrode sandwich. The researchers also changed the electric voltage cycle.  First, they applied a negative voltage, and then they briefly turned it off. Next, they applied a positive voltage, turned it off again, and repeated the cycle. The change in voltage causes the lithium and the sodium ions to move into the electrode, stop, and then start to move back out when the current reverses. However, because the electrode material has a slightly higher affinity for lithium than sodium, lithium ions are the first to move into the electrodes and the last to leave. So, repeating this cycle concentrates lithium in the electrode. After 10 such cycles, taking just minutes, there is a  one-to-one ratio of lithium to sodium. The cost of electricity for Li extraction with the reported setup is $5 per kilogram.



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