Inorganic nanofiber as a promising sorbent for lithium recovery

•Inorganic hydrogen–manganese–oxide (HMO) nanofibers are prepared for Li+ recovery.•Li+ uptake of all HMO nanofibers is higher than that of HMO particles.•As the diameter of the nanofiber decreases, Li+ uptake increases.•Reusability tests reveal that 90 nm is the optimal diameter for a nanofiber.•The adsorption–desorption ratio is greater than 90% for every cycle for all nanofibers.