High Lithium Content Research Articles

Lithium Levels in Food from the Romanian Market by Inductively Coupled Plasma – Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS): A Pilot Study

Lithium is a naturally occurring alkali metal, found in vegetables, grains and drinking water. Based on the nutritional studies, lithium is an essential trace element with a recommended dietary allowance of 1 mg/day. Lithium is used in therapeutic doses for the treatment of depressive episodes. The natural lithium intake doses are much lower than those used for the treatment of patients with psychiatric disorders, but even very low lithium levels induced by the routine consumption of lithium from water and food may have anti-suicidal effects. Food consumption can naturally increase the lithium intake to levels that are unlikely to cause negative side effects. Over 200 food samples from Romanian market were analyzed, consisting of 130 basic food samples (oils, meat, milk and cheese) and 70 vegetable samples. The lithium concentrations were determined by inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Vegetable samples had the highest lithium content, followed by the milk, cheese, meat, and oil samples. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was applied separately on the dairy products and vegetables in order to find the best markers to differentiate these types of food.

Li and Ca Enrichment in the Bristol Dry Lake Brine Compared to Brines from Cadiz and Danby Dry Lakes, Barstow-Bristol Trough, California, USA

Relatively few discharging playas in western United States extensional basins have high concentrations of lithium (Li) and calcium (Ca) in the basin-center brines. However, the source of both these ions is not well understood, and it is not clear why basins in close proximity within the same extensional trough have notably different concentrations of Li and Ca. In the Barstow-Bristol Trough, California, USA, three playas in separate topographically closed basins vary in Li and Ca concentrations from northwest to southeast: 71–110 mg/L Li and 17–65 g/L Ca at Bristol Dry Lake, 20–80 mg/L Li and 7.5–40 g/L Ca at Cadiz Dry Lake, and <5 mg/L Li and <0.5 g/L Ca at Danby Dry Lake. Using new and historic data from recently drilled wells (2017–2018), it has been determined that there is minimal variation of temperature, Li, and major ion concentrations with depth (down to 500 m), suggesting that the brines are well mixed and likely to circulate slowly due to density driven flow. Although it has been postulated that geothermal fluids supply the Li and Ca to Bristol and Cadiz closed basins, there is little to no surface evidence for geothermal fluids, except for a young (80,000-year-old) volcanic crater in Bristol Dry Lake. However, major-ion chemistry of fluid inclusions in bedded halite deposits show no change in brine chemistry over the last 3 million years in Bristol Dry Lake indicating that the source of lithium is not related to these recent basaltic eruptions. Mg–Li geothermometry of basin-center brines indicates that Bristol and Cadiz brines have possibly been heated to near 160 °C at some time and Danby brine water has been heated to less than 100 °C, although Cadiz and Danby lakes have no known surface geothermal features. The difference in Li concentrations between the different basins is likely caused by variable sources of both ions and the hydrology of the playas, including differences in how open or closed the basins are, recharge rates, evaporative concentration, permeability of basin-center sediments, and the possible amount of geothermal heating. The differences in Ca concentrations are more difficult to determine. However, historic groundwater data in the basins indicate that less saline groundwater on the north side of the basins has molar Ca:HCO3 and Ca:SO4 ratios greater than one, which indicates a non-saline groundwater source for at least some of the Ca. The similar Li and Ca concentrations in Bristol and Cadiz lakes may be because they are separated only by a low topographic divide and may have been connected at times in the past three million years. All three basins are at least Miocene in age, as all three basins have been interpreted to contain Bouse Formation sediments at various depths or in outcrop. The age of the basins indicates that there is ample time for concentration of Li and Ca in the basins even at low evaporation rates or low geothermal inputs. The source of Li for brines in Bristol and Cadiz basins is postulated to be from ancient geothermal fluids that no longer exist in the basin. The source of Li to the sediment may be either geothermal fluids or dissolution and concentration of Li from tephra layers and detrital micas or clays that are present in the sediments, or a combination of both. The source of Ca must at least partially come from groundwater in the alluvial fans, as some wells have Ca:HCO3 ratios that are greater than one. The source of Ca could be from the dissolution of Ca-bearing igneous rocks in the surrounding catchments with limited HCO3 contribution, or dilute geothermal water migrating up through faults in the basin margin. The relatively low concentration of Li and Ca in Danby playa is likely caused by a lack of sources in the basin and because the basin was (or is) partially hydrologically open to the south, reducing the effectiveness of evaporative concentration of solutes. Bristol Dry Lake is likely the only hydrologically closed basin of the three because although Cadiz has a similar brine chemistry and salinity, there is almost no halite deposition in the basin. It is only Bristol Dry Lake that contains 40% halite in its basin center.

Lithium recovery by solvent extraction from simulated shale gas produced water – Impact of organic compounds

Shale gas produced water has a large number of inorganic compounds, originating from the shale layer and the fracturing fluid. Especially, the Marcellus shale gas produced water contains a relatively high concentration of lithium, one of the important metals in various industries; as a result, there have been several studies on recovering lithium from the produced water. However, the fluid also includes organic compounds, but their probable inhibitory effect on the recovery of profitable metal has not been thoroughly examined. In this study, solvent extraction was implemented to recover lithium from the produced water, containing different types and concentrations of alkanes in two consecutive stages. The first and second stage involved the removal of the divalent ions in the produced water, as well as the extraction of Li+ ions, respectively. During the extraction process, there was an inhibitory influence of organic compounds, with their effects on the Li recovery efficiency predominantly observed in the first stage vs. the second stage. Final lithium recovery efficiency after two extraction stages decreased with increasing alkane chain length and increasing concentrations of n-hexane.

Lithium leaching recovery and mechanisms from density fractions of an Illinois Basin bituminous coal

Lithium recovery from the density fractions of Baker (namely West Kentucky No. 13) seam coal was investigated in this study. Proximate and elemental analyses showed that lithium contents in the 1.8–2.2 SG and 2.2 SG sink fractions were 185 ppm and 150 ppm, respectively, which are significantly higher than the average content of coal sources (12 ppm) and coal ashes (66 ppm) worldwide. Moreover, due to the high lithium contents and mass distribution, nearly 90% of the lithium present in the Baker coal sample was distributed in the two density fractions. Direct leaching using a HCl solution resulted in less than 10% lithium recovery, which was due to nearly 90% of the lithium being associated with insoluble solids as determined by the results from sequential extraction tests. Calcination of both density fractions under 600 °C for two hours followed by leaching resulted in recovery increases in the range of 70% to 80%. The pyro-metallurgical pretreatment step converted most of the associated lithium minerals to more easy-to-leach forms such as carbonate and metal oxide. Based on mineralogy characterization and leaching test results, it was concluded that the positive effects of calcination on lithium leachability resulted from the dehydration and disintegration of kaolinite as well as dehydroxylation and expansion of muscovite/illite. An analysis of the leaching kinetics revealed that the leaching rate of lithium was controlled by interface transfer and diffusion across the product layer and was negatively impacted when the calcination temperature exceeded 600 °C due to sintering of the kaolinite.

High specific strength Mg-Li-Zn-Er alloy processed by multi deformation processes

Under the industrial demand of energy saving, weight loss has become one of the current concerns. By increasing the strength of Mg-Li alloy with high lithium content, the industrial demand can be met by higher specific strength. Mg-16Li-2.5Zn-2.5Er (LZ162-2.5Er) alloy is extruded at 100 °C and cold rolled subsequently. The microstructures and mechanical properties of as-cast, as-extruded and cold-rolled LZ162-2.5Er alloys were investigated. A highest specific strength of 178 kNm/kg was obtained. During extrusion, fine-grain strengthening is stimulated by dynamic recrystallization. The subsequent cold rolling increases the dislocation density and uniformizes the distribution of the second phases further, causing work hardening and dispersion strengthening. In this paper, a process of high specific strength Mg-Li alloys for lightweight industry is provided as a reference.

Fast Lithium Ion Conduction in Lithium Phosphidoaluminates

AbstractSolid electrolyte materials are crucial for the development of high‐energy‐density all‐solid‐state batteries (ASSB) using a nonflammable electrolyte. In order to retain a low lithium‐ion transfer resistance, fast lithium ion conducting solid electrolytes are required. We report on the novel superionic conductor Li9AlP4 which is easily synthesised from the elements via ball‐milling and subsequent annealing at moderate temperatures and which is characterized by single‐crystal and powder X‐ray diffraction. This representative of the novel compound class of lithium phosphidoaluminates has, as an undoped material, a remarkable fast ionic conductivity of 3 mS cm−1 and a low activation energy of 29 kJ mol−1 as determined by impedance spectroscopy. Temperature‐dependent 7Li NMR spectroscopy supports the fast lithium motion. In addition, Li9AlP4 combines a very high lithium content with a very low theoretical density of 1.703 g cm−3. The distribution of the Li atoms over the diverse crystallographic positions between the [AlP4]9− tetrahedra is analyzed by means of DFT calculations.

Fast Lithium Ion Conduction in Lithium Phosphidoaluminates.

Solid electrolyte materials are crucial for the development of high‐energy‐density all‐solid‐state batteries (ASSB) using a nonflammable electrolyte. In order to retain a low lithium‐ion transfer resistance, fast lithium ion conducting solid electrolytes are required. We report on the novel superionic conductor Li9AlP4 which is easily synthesised from the elements via ball‐milling and subsequent annealing at moderate temperatures and which is characterized by single‐crystal and powder X‐ray diffraction. This representative of the novel compound class of lithium phosphidoaluminates has, as an undoped material, a remarkable fast ionic conductivity of 3 mS cm−1 and a low activation energy of 29 kJ mol−1 as determined by impedance spectroscopy. Temperature‐dependent 7Li NMR spectroscopy supports the fast lithium motion. In addition, Li9AlP4 combines a very high lithium content with a very low theoretical density of 1.703 g cm−3. The distribution of the Li atoms over the diverse crystallographic positions between the [AlP4]9− tetrahedra is analyzed by means of DFT calculations.

The early stages of ferromanganese ore genesis on the guyots of the Magellan Seamounts (The Pacific Ocean)

Fe-Mn crusts play an important role in marine mineral deposit research because of their widespread occurrence and high concentrations of valuable and rare metals. Most Fe-Mn crust deposits occur on the tens of thousands of seamounts found in the ocean. Data on the structure, texture, composition, age, and deposit characteristics will help define which factors are key for the creation of mineral accumulation and which combination of factors leads to the formation of potentially economic concentrations of metals. In this paper, we address the structure and characteristics of the oldest Fe-Mn crust stratigraphic sections (Late Cretaceous and Paleocene) collected from the Magellan seamounts. A complete section of the crusts on the Magellan Seamounts includes four layers, each 2—4 cm thickness: the Late Paleocene (?) Early Eocene layer I 1, the Mid Late Eocene layer I—2, the Miocene layer II and the Quaternary layer III. In some cases, the main CMC section is underlain by relict layers. The chemical and mineral composition of the layers was determined both by X-ray diffraction and precision methods; concentrations of the main ore components and phosphorus were determined by the methods of classical chemistry. The age of 12 samples was determined, the mineral composition of four, the chemical composition of 22 samples. The results of the relict layers analysis allow to distinguish two groups of samples among them. Among the relict layers, two age ranges are established — the second half of Late Cretaceous (R1) and the first half of Paleocene (R2). High concentrations of barium, lithium, gallium, and zinc suggest that hydrothermal sources could be the source of the material. But not through direct delivery, but via the phase of transfer of sea bottom water. Thus, the analysis of lithological and geochemical parameters and fossil fauna of foraminifera in the relict layers of the Magellan Seamounts ore section indicates two stages of their formation: Late Campan Maastricht and Early Middle Paleocene. The discreteness of the formation of relict layers in time once again proves that the sharply changing environmental conditions controlled the growth of the CMC ore section.

First-Principles Study of Tritium Diffusion in the Li3TaO4 Crystal.

Li3TaO4 with a high melting point, good thermal stability, and higher lithium content has become a possible choice for breeder materials, which have potential applications in future fusion reactors. Perfect and defect crystal models of Li3TaO4 are set up, and all of the tritium-diffusion pathways have been studied by the first-principles method. The activation energy barriers of different diffusion pathways are calculated and analyzed considering the pathway length and tritium–oxygen interactions. The obtained minimum energy barrier for tritium diffusing in the perfect Li3TaO4 crystal is only 0.34 eV. The minimum energy barrier is less than 0.72 eV when tritium diffuses in the defect Li3TaO4 crystal in the presence of a lithium vacancy. Finally, the diffusion coefficients of tritium in the Li3TaO4 crystal are calculated, which further confirm that it is easy for tritium to escape from the trap of the lithium vacancy and diffuse in the crystal. Such a tritium-diffusion behavior is in favor of the tritium-release process of the Li3TaO4 crystal and could provide theoretical guidance for the future applications of Li3TaO4 materials.

Seasonal and temperature effect on serum lithium concentrations

Lithium remains the gold standard treatment for bipolar disorder. However, it has a very narrow therapeutic index (0.6-0.8 mmol/L). It has been suggested that high environmental temperature can lead to dehydration, elevated plasma lithium concentration and then lithium toxicity. We aimed to investigate the effect of seasonal and short-term changes in temperature on serum lithium concentrations in Sydney, Australia. We retrospectively analysed data from all patients who had serum lithium concentrations taken from the Prince of Wales and Sutherland Hospitals between 2008 and 2018. Temperature data came from the Bureau of Meteorology. We examined correlations between lithium concentrations and the preceding 5 days maximum temperatures, month and season. We also performed a longitudinal analysis of the effect of temperature and seasons within selected patients who had repeated levels. A total of 11,912 serum lithium concentrations from 2493 patients were analysed. There was no significant association between higher lithium concentration and preceding higher temperatures (r = -0.008, p = 0.399). There was also no important seasonal or monthly variation, across all patients or in the smaller cohort with longitudinal data (n = 123, r = 0.008, 95% confidence interval: [-0.04, 0.06]). There were no clinically important differences in serum lithium concentration related to seasons, months or temperatures, which suggests that patients on lithium are able to adequately maintain hydration during hot weather in Sydney.

River toxicity assessment using molecular biosensors: Heavy metal contamination in the Turag-Balu-Buriganga river systems, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Pollution in rapidly urbanising cities and in delta systems is a serious problem that blights the lives and livelihoods of millions of people, damaging and restricting potable water supply and supplies to industry (Whitehead et al, 2015, 2018). Employing new technology based on luminescent molecular biosensors, the toxicity in the rivers around Dhaka in Bangladesh, namely the Turag, Tongi, Balu and Buriganga, has been assessed. Samples taken at 36 sites during medium and low flow conditions and during the Bishwa Ijtema Festival revealed high levels of cell toxicity, as well as high concentrations of metals, particularly aluminium, cadmium, chromium, iron, zinc, lithium, selenium and nickel. Chemical analysis also revealed low dissolved oxygen levels and anoxic conditions in the rivers at certain sites. The bacterial molecular biosensors were demonstrated to be fast, with results in 30 min, robust and a highly sensitive method for the assessment of water toxicity in the field. Furthermore, the biosensor toxicity analysis correlated with the metals data, and a multivariate regression relationship was developed relating toxicity to key metals, such a selenium, zinc and chromium. The resulting model has been validated against split samples and the Bishwa Ijtema Festival data. The combination of modelling and the molecular biosensor technology provides a new approach to detecting and managing pollution in urban river systems.

Hydride Intercalation of Lithium into the Spinel MgMnO3 – δ

Lithium-rich superstoichiometric solid solutions MgLixMnO3 – δ were obtained by intercalation into the spinel MgMnO3 – δ using lithium hydride LiH as an intercalating agent through the stage of the formation of mechanocomposites. The accompanying chemical transformations involving the hydride ion were studied. Conventional ceramic synthesis methods and alternative intercalating agents were analyzed. It was shown that hydride intercalation produces pure samples of single-phase spinels with high lithium content (MgLi0.75MnO3), which is three times higher than that reachable by conventional ceramic synthesis methods.

Alkali Metal Salt Catalyzed Carbothermic Reduction for Sustainable Recovery of LiCoO2: Accurately Controlled Reduction and Efficient Water Leaching

Recycling of spent lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) is essential for both environmental protection and natural resource conservation. Carbothermic reduction of active materials has been a research hotspot for spent LIB recycling. However, the high reaction temperature and the limited solubility of Li2CO3 in the reduced product seriously restricted its industrial application. Here, based on the catalytic effect of alkali metal salts on carbothermic reduction, a novel process that features lower reduction temperature, accurately controlled reduction products, high concentration of lithium containing solution, and facile-treated CoO product was developed. With the catalysis of 10% NaOH, LiCoO2 can be controllably reduced to Li2O and CoO through catalytic carbothermic reduction. Afterward, lithium in the reduction products can be leached by deionized water with leaching efficiency higher than 93%, leaving cobalt in the leaching residue in the form of CoO. The lithium concentration in the lixivium can be up to 14....

Analyzing the Effects of Lithium Plating on the Safety Performance of Lithium-Ion Batteries

As demand for high-performance lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) surges across new civilian and military markets, so does demand for increased charging rates and extended battery life. Unfortunately, this push toward improved battery performance is accompanied by an increased risk of internal lithium plating and subsequent short-circuiting. Both introduce an inherent safety hazard which extends beyond the standard safety concerns associated with lithium ion batteries. It is widely accepted that plated lithium both initiates and increases the rate of reaction of runaway events, however its effects have yet to be quantified and isolated from other exothermic reactions occurring in the cell. Due to lithium’s high physical mobility, volatile high-temperature kinetics, and instability in the presence of humidity, it is important to identify and isolate the unique hazards associated with molten lithium during battery failure. This area of study was of interest to the Power Sources Technology Group (PSTG) at Sandia National Laboratories due to our unique cradle-to-grave capabilities, which allowed for every aspect of the cell development and testing process to be closely monitored. This included fabrication of individual cells (>1 Ah) with preferential nucleation sites followed by electrochemical plating and subsequent abuse testing of each cell at the battery abuse testing laboratory (BATlab). The ability to precisely control the extent of lithium plating allowed for facile correlation between the extent of lithium plating and worsened abuse response. Additionally, the ability to monitor cells during thermal runaway allowed for direct observation of the potential hazards associated with high concentrations of molten lithium being dispersed during a failure event. Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525.

The Role of Lithium Salt Concentration in the Active Corrosion Protection of Aluminium Alloys

It has been demonstrated previously that lithium salts containing organic coatings offer effective active corrosion protection on AA2024-T3 alloys when exposed to neutral salt spray test for 168 hours [1, 2]. In the presence of a coating defect the lithium salts leach from the organic coating to the exposed metal substrate increasing the local pH to moderate alkaline conditions followed by the formation of a protective layer within the defect site [2, 3]. The lithium accumulation at the defect site and hence the formation of the protective layer is influenced by the inhibitor loading and solubility in the coating as well as the coating defect size. Three different surface compositions of the lithium protective layer have been recently identified as lithium-based layered double hydroxide (Li-LDH), lithium mixed pseudo-boehmite (Li-PB) and pseudo-boehmite (PB) each depending on the lithium leaching rate and the coating defect size [4]. For small defect sizes a high lithium concentration is hypothesized to result in the generation of Li-LDH. Furthermore, Li-PB is identified within moderate defect sizes and moderate inhibitor concentration and PB is generated within large defect sizes where low lithium concentrations are expected. On this basis, this paper describes the lithium active corrosion protection on aerospace aluminium alloys as a function of the inhibitor concentration. In doing so, commercial AA2198-T8 and AA2024-T3 aluminium alloys are immersed for 24 hours in lithium salt containing aqueous solutions at systematically varied lithium salts concentration from 10-6 M to 10-1 M. The alloys are then transferred to 10-1 M aqueous NaCl solution at near neutral pH conditions and either LPR measurements are performed as a function of time over 100 hours or anodic polarization is performed. The surface composition of the alloys after 24 hours immersion in lithium containing aqueous solution is also characterized. The surface composition and the electrochemical characteristics of each lithium passive layer generated is determined as a function of the lithium concentration. The surface composition of the passive layer ranges from PB to Li-PB and Li-LDH with increasing inhibitor concentration. The polarization resistance obtained as a function of time is correlated to the corrosion rate of each generated passive layer thus demonstrating the corrosion protection performance of Li-LDH, Li-PB and PB. The generation and corrosion protection performance of each passive layer is also demonstrated under relatively thin electrolyte layers mimicking the exposure of a coating defect and the leaching of lithium salt from the coating matrix under atmospheric conditions. Visser, P., et al., Study of the formation of a protective layer in a defect from lithium-leaching organic coatings. Progress in Organic Coatings, 2016. 99: p. 80-90.Visser, P., et al., Electrochemical Evaluation of Corrosion Inhibiting Layers Formed in a Defect from Lithium-Leaching Organic Coatings. Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 2017. 164(7): p. C396-C406.Visser, P., et al., Mechanism of Passive Layer Formation on AA2024-T3 from Alkaline Lithium Carbonate Solutions in the Presence of Sodium Chloride. Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 2018. 165(2): p. C60-C70.Visser, P., et al., The chemical throwing power of lithium-based inhibitors from organic coatings on AA2024-T3. Corrosion Science, 2019. 150: p. 194-206.

Geochemistry, Monazite U–Pb Dating, and Li–Nd Isotopes of the Madi Rare Metal Granite in the Northeastern Part of the North China Craton

The Madi rare metal granite is a complex massif, which contains a variety of rare metals, such as Nb, Ta, Li, and Be. In this paper, the geochemical characteristics of the granite were obtained by multi‐collector inductively coupled mass spectrometry (MC‐ICP‐MS). The precise crystalline age of the granite was obtained from monazite U‐Pb dating, and the source of the granite was determined using Li‐Nd isotopes. The Madi rare metal granite is a high‐K (calc‐alkaline), peraluminous, S‐type granite. The U‐Pb monazite age indicates that the crystalline age of the granite is 175.6 Ma, which is Early Jurassic. The granite is characterized by a relatively wide range of δ7Li values (+2.99‰ to +5.83‰) and high lithium concentrations (181 ppm to 1022 ppm). The lithium isotopic composition of the granite does not significantly correlate with the degree of magmatic differentiation. An insignificant amount of lithium isotope fractionation occurred during the granitic differentiation. The lithium isotopic composition of the granite significantly differs from that of the wall rock, but it is very similar to that of a primitive mantle peridotite xenolith (mean δ7Li value +3.5‰). The plot of Li concentration versus δ7Li indicates that the Li isotopic composition of the granite is similar to that of island arc lavas. Based on the above‐described evidence, the granite was mainly derived from the crust, but it was contaminated by a deep granitic magma.

Atomistic Simulations of the Defect Chemistry and Self-Diffusion of Li-ion in LiAlO2

Lithium aluminate, LiAlO2, is a material that is presently being considered as a tritium breeder material in fusion reactors and coating material in Li-conducting electrodes. Here, we employ atomistic simulation techniques to show that the lowest energy intrinsic defect process is the cation anti-site defect (1.10 eV per defect). This was followed closely by the lithium Frenkel defect (1.44 eV per defect), which ensures a high lithium content in the material and inclination for lithium diffusion from formation of vacancies. Li self-diffusion is three dimensional and exhibits a curved pathway with a migration barrier of 0.53 eV. We considered a variety of dopants with charges +1 (Na, K and Rb), +2 (Mg, Ca, Sr and Ba), +3 (Ga, Fe, Co, Ni, Mn, Sc, Y and La) and +4 (Si, Ge, Ti, Zr and Ce) on the Al site. Dopants Mg2+ and Ge4+ can facilitate the formation of Li interstitials and Li vacancies, respectively. Trivalent dopants Fe3+, Ni3+ and Mn3+ prefer to occupy the Al site with exoergic solution energies meaning that they are candidate dopants for the synthesis of Li (Al, M) O2 (M = Fe, Ni and Mn) compounds.

Development of Organic Ionic Plastic Crystals As Solid-State Electrolytes

The advantages of ionic liquids as electrolytes for electrochemical applications such as lithium batteries and dye-sensitized solar cells are now well recognized. Organic Ionic Plastic Crystals (OIPCs) are crystalline phases found in many of the same organic salt families as ILs but these materials have elevated melting points and exhibit various forms of disorder, which is the origin of their plastic mechanical properties. These plastic crystal materials are showing increasing promise as solid state electrolytes for various electrochemical applications.[1] We have also recently discovered that this disorder allows the use of OIPC-based membranes for light gas separation.[2] OIPCs display one or more solid-solid phase transition before melting, which is associated with the onset of rotational or translational motions of the ions and thus a progressive transformation from an ordered crystalline phase to an increasingly disordered structure. This disorder is fundamentally responsible for the fast ion conduction of target ions, such as lithium or sodium, and core to their efficient performance as solid-state electrolytes. Key to the development of OIPCs is expanding the range of cations and anions available, and understanding the resulting structure and dynamics. Here we discuss our development of new OIPC-based materials for energy applications, in particular lithium metal batteries, and insights into the mechanism of ion transport using techniques such as variable temperature solid state NMR. The recent development of new OIPCs using the N,N-diethylpyrrolidinium ([C2epyr]) cation will be discussed, in addition to the use of very high lithium content [C2epyr][FSI] / Li[FSI] ionic liquids and OIPCs as battery electrolytes.

Lithium bioaccumulation in Lentinus crinitus mycelial biomass as a potential functional food

Lentinus crinitus is an important basidiomycete consumed by ethnic groups from the Amazon, commonly found in decomposing trees with high lignolytic and antioxidant activities. Lithium is a mood stabilizer, antiepileptic, antipsychotic, and antidepressant used in clinical practice. This study aimed to evaluate L. crinitus mycelial biomass bioaccumulated with lithium in liquid cultivation medium. The malt extract medium was added from zero to 100 mg L−1 lithium from two lithium sources (Li2CO3 and LiCl). The maximum mycelial biomass production was 7218.89 mg L−1 in the culture medium added with 5 mg L−1 lithium from LiCl. The highest lithium concentration in the mycelial biomass was of 574.72 μg g−1 produced in the culture medium with 25 mg L−1 lithium from Li2CO3. Pearson's correlation showed that Li2CO3 reduces the mycelial biomass and increases lithium bioaccumulation. The maximum translocated lithium from cultivation medium to mycelial biomass was up to 19 or 28% with LiCl or Li2CO3, respectively. Therefore, although Li2CO3 presents greater inhibition on the mycelial biomass production, it promoted greater lithium bioaccumulation in L. crinitus mycelial biomass and resulted in greater yield of lithium translocation. The equivalent daily dose of lithium for psychiatric treatment, without bioavailability studies, could be reached with 97.4 g lithium-enriched mycelial biomass and, based in the literature, for reduction of violence and criminality rates the amount could be reached with 0.24–0.58 mg. Thus, the development of lithium-enriched mycelial biomass could be an alternative functional food.

Topological constraint model of high lithium content borate glasses

Abstract Lithium borate glasses exhibit the “boron anomaly” and clustering of the lithium ions. Bodker et.al (Bodker, Mauro, Youngman, & Smedskjaer, 2019) predicted the Tg using statistical mechanics and topological constraint theory (TCT) over a wide range of contents (to 65 mol% Li2O). Although Bodker's model predicted the fraction of the structures present, this paper examines the linkage between intermediate-range structures and properties of the glasses. Tg was found using TCT with the structural model of Feller, Dell, and Bray (Feller, Dell, Bray, 1982). The topology of the intermediate-range structure was related to rigidity, and to lithium clustering.