The alkaline anion exchange membrane (AEM) water electrolysis technology has advantages of low cost, high current density, and fast dynamic response, and it has attracted more attention from researchers in the last few years. As one of the core components in this water electrolysis technology, AEMs play a crucial role in improving the hydrogen production efficiency of electrolyzers. However, it is difficult to achieve high ionic conductivity and high alkaline stability of AEMs simultaneously, which limits the practical applications of this hydrogen production technology. This review focuses on alkaline AEMs, which can be applied in the field of water electrolysis. Firstly, the performance evaluation system and the structure–activity relationship of AEMs are proposed. Then, the research progress of AEMs for water electrolysis was illustrated in detail. Finally, the current challenges and outlooks for development of AEMs applied in water electrolysis are presented. We hope this review can provide a new perspective for the design and preparation of AEMs for the demand of practical applications in water electrolysis.

Lithium is known as the “white petroleum” of the electrification era, and the global demand for lithium grows rapidly with the quick development of new energy industry. The aqueous solutions, such as salt lake brine, underground brine, and seawater, have large lithium reserves, thus this kind of lithium resource has become a research hotspot recently. Compared with other lithium extraction technologies, electro-sorption method shows good prospects for practical applications with advantages in the aspects of efficiency, recovery ratio, cost, and environment. Herein, this review covers recent progress on electro-sorption technology for lithium recovery from aqueous solutions, including the concept illustration, research progress of the applied working electrodes and counter electrodes, and the evaluation indicators of electro-sorption system. Meanwhile, some prospects for the development of this technology are also proposed. We hope this review is beneficial for the construction of high-efficient electrochemical lithium recovery system to achieve an adequate lithium supply in the future.