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A facile synthesis of hierarchically porous Cu-BTC for efficient removal of uranium(VI)

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Abstract

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are promising adsorbents for extraction of uranium(VI) due to their high surface area and abundant active site. However, the smaller pore size (< 2 nm) and harsh synthesis conditions (e.g., high temperature and pressure) severely hinder MOFs practical applications in some cases. Herein, we developed a simple and facile method to prepare hierarchically porous Cu-BTC that contained micropores, mesopores and macropores. The as-synthesized hierarchically porous Cu-BTC showed high uptake capacity (406.9 mg g−1) and removal efficiency (99.7%) in the capture of uranium(VI) from an aqueous solution. Thermodynamics results indicate the spontaneous nature of uranium(VI) adsorption process onto hierarchically porous Cu-BTC. In addition, Langmuir isotherm and pseudo-second-order models were found to be more suitable in describing the adsorption process of uranium(VI) than those of Freundlich and pseudo-first-order models. These results indicate that hierarchically porous MOFs obtained from rapid room-temperature synthesis are promising adsorbents for the removal of uranium(VI) from aqueous solutions.

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Funding

This research was funded by the Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province (Grant No. 2019JJ60003).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of South China, Hengyang, 421001, Hunan, China

    Jiexin Li, Pengfei Yang, Guojun Ke, Chunxia Zhu & Senlin Zhang

  2. School of Materials Science and Energy Engineering, Foshan University, Foshan, 528231, China

    Chongxiong Duan

  3. Hunan Key Laboratory for the Design and Application of Actinide Complexes, Hengyang, 421001, China

    Pengfei Yang

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  1. Chongxiong Duan
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  2. Jiexin Li
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  3. Pengfei Yang
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  4. Guojun Ke
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  5. Chunxia Zhu
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  6. Senlin Zhang
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Contributions

CD and JL conceived and designed the study; CD, JL, WQ and CZ, performed the experiment and analyzed the data; PY provided critical feedback and helped shape the research; CD wrote the final version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Pengfei Yang.

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Duan, C., Li, J., Yang, P. et al. A facile synthesis of hierarchically porous Cu-BTC for efficient removal of uranium(VI). J Radioanal Nucl Chem 323, 317–327 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-019-06888-w

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