Prelithiation-derived hierarchical TiO2 sieve with metal-organic framework gate for selective lithium recovery

•A novel hierarchical cubic LixTiO2-based hollow Li-ion sieve was constructed.•A prelithiation concept at a mild temperature is proposed to engineer active Li+ sites.•ZIF-8 with unique 6-ring window is employed as Li+ channel for selective recovery.•The hollow TiO2-based core–shell hybrid yields high Li+ capture capacity against competing ions.