Thermo-responsive ion imprinted polymer on the surface of magnetic carbon nanospheres for recognizing and capturing low-concentration lithium ion

•A novel temperature and magnetic dual-responsive ion-imprinted polymers were prepared.•Bi-functional monomers were employed for Li+ controlled embedding and release.•The obtained material exhibits obvious adsorption–desorption effects towards Li+.•The material possesses high recognitive selectivity and reproducibility for Li+.•Theoretical calculations were performed to confirm the experimental results.