Structural mechanism of selective binding of lithium on a solid matrix of Al(OH)3 from aqueous solutions

The structure of intercalation complexes of aluminum hydroxide with lithium salts is investigated by X-ray diffractometry and by²¹Al,⁷Li, and¹H NMR. The lithium ions occupy vacant positions in the octahedral voids of aluminum hydroxide, and all atoms of gibbsite change localization. Parameters of the²⁷Al and⁷Li quadrupole and¹H dipole-dipole interaction tensors in anhydrous and aqueous intercalates of gibbsite with lithium salts are determined. A mechanism is suggested for the interaction of gibbsite with aqueous solutions of lithium salts. Institute of Solid State Chemistry and Mechanochemistry, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences (Novosibirsk). Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences (Novosibirsk). Translated fromZhurnal Strukturnoi Khimii, Vol. 39, No. 3, pp. 448–452, May–June, 1998. This work was supported by RFFR grant No. 96-03-33069.