A novel study on preparation of H₂TiO₃-lithium adsorbent with titanyl sulfate as titanium source by inorganic...

A peroxy lithium titanate sol was prepared with low-cost and easily available titanyl sulfate as the titanium source, lithium acetate as the lithium source, and aquae hydrogenii dioxidi as the complexing agent using an inorganic precipitation-peptization method. The sol system was aged, centrifugal-washed, dried and calcined to obtain a pure precursor, Li₂TiO₃, followed by pickling with hydrochloric acid to obtain the H₂TiO₃-lithium adsorbent. The effects of aging time and calcination temperature on the target product were investigated. The results indicate that the sol-system is stable, which is beneficial for loading on a suitable carrier, such as ceramic foams. Centrifugal-washing, instead of vacuum filtration-washing, is conducive to product formation. The most suitable aging time of precursor sol is 24 h and the appropriate calcination temperature is 750 °C. The lithium drawn-out ratio of samples synthesized in this condition reaches 89.50% after pickling with 0.2 M hydrochloric acid for 8 h at 70 °C. Moreover, the Li⁺ uptake of the adsorbent (adsorption capacity) reaches 29.96 mg g^-1 and 33.35 mg g^-1 when the adsorption time is 1 h and 8 h, respectively.