Advanced ion transfer materials in electro-driven membrane processes for sustainable ion-resource extraction and recovery

The conversion of industrial wastewater, salt-lakes and seawater into the valuable ionic resources is a critical challenge for sustainable global development. Electro-driven membranes are a remarkable class of separation materials established as a viable solution for this challenge. In the past few years, the design and development of ionic transfer materials in electro-driven membranes with target ion selectivity for diverse resources and environment-related applications has attracted a huge surge of interest in material science and engineering disciplines. This tutorial review aims to analyses and summarize the latest advances in the key principles and experimental procedures for designing target ion-selective separation in electro-driven membranes. Particular attention is given to the fabrication process of target ion-selective electro-driven membranes, in view of obtaining a controllable membrane structure, cross-linking and assembly. Moreover, the current evaluation metrics for the selective separation efficiency of electro-driven membranes are critically analyzed. In addition, the state-of-the-art applications of the membranes are summarized, including the selective separation of lithium, fluoride, heavy metal ions, and nutrient ions (e.g., NH4+, PO43−). Overall, this tutorial review suggests promising potential approaches for designing, fabricating, testing, and applying electro-driven membranes in target ion-selective separation for resource sustainability.