Ion-exchange and adsorption technologies are considered environmentally favorable options for hydrometallurgical applications compared to more conventional methods like precipitation and liquid–liquid extraction. Despite their environmental advantages, the selectivity of separation materials often falls short, and durability issues may arise. A convenient alternative to increase the selectivity and stability of adsorbent materials is represented by the ion imprinting technique. The selectivity of ion-imprinted materials derives from the complementarity of the binding sites in terms of size, shape, dimension, and charge with those of the target ion. In this project, highly selective ion-imprinted biobased adsorbents and composite membranes with unprecedented performance and stability, featuring unique and customizable selectivity for the specific application (Ni(III), Co(III), Li(I), and REE(III) selective recovery, particularly in hydrometallurgical processes), will be produced.

2026

2029