New paper published in Desalination. Our new study shows how heteroatom engineering can make carbon electrodes more selective for lithium-ion recovery during capacitive deionization. Using anthracite-derived activated carbon, we compared nitrogen/sulfur co-doping and boron doping in complex brackish water containing Li⁺, Na⁺, K⁺, Mg²⁺, and Ca²⁺, revealing complementary effects: N,S co-doping improves lithium selectivity, while boron doping increases overall ion uptake and lithium recovery. These findings provide a simple carbon-based strategy for designing electrochemical desalination electrodes for lithium recovery from multi-ion saline waters.

Photo credit: (c) Carsten Simon