Using hydrogen bond to promote the ionization of benzene sulfonamide for extracting Li+

Ensuring a continuous and sustainable supply of lithium requires the development of green and efficient separation processes, such as liquid-liquid extraction for primary sources. In this work, a green method of extracting Li + from Qinghai old brine by using benzene sulfonamides is proposed. The method forms a green extraction system by hydrogen bonding between long-chain alcohol and benzene sulfonamide substance N221. It is proved that the formation of hydrogen bond promotes the ionization of N221 by means of conductivity measurement, equilibrium constant calculation, molecular dynamics simulation . This system has an obvious attraction to Li + , and the highest extraction efficiency of Li + can reach 95 %, and amine substances are added to maintain the pH of the system. The extraction effect is comparable to TBP (tributyl phosphate) and functional ionic liquid . After stripping, Li + enters the aqueous phase, and the separation effect is desirable. Therefore, a new green extractant is proposed in this study, which provides a new idea for green and environmentally friendly lithium extraction .