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Elucidating the binding configuration of uranium at the biotite-water interface

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Abstract

Understanding the binding configuration of uranium on biotite is crucial for elucidating the environmental behavior of U(VI) and addressing emergency scenarios in disposal repositories. This investigation demonstrated that U(VI) adsorption on biotite was significantly affected by pH, while a lesser impact from ionic strength. Moreover, the presence of phosphate and humic acid (HA) exerted a substantial enhancing influence on U(VI) adsorption (adsorption rate increased by over 20%). X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis revealed that elevated Fe(II) contents within biotite structures facilitated the reduction of partial U(VI) to form U(V/IV)/U(IV), i.e., mineralization products, under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grant Nos. 21906187 and 22206068], the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2021M691372), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. lzujbky-2021-kb06).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Radiochemistry Laboratory, School of Nuclear Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, People’s Republic of China

    Xiaolan Zhao, Zhiwei Niu, Duoqiang Pan & Wangsuo Wu

  2. Sino-French Institute of Nuclear Engineering and Technology, Sun Yat-Sen University, Zhuhai, 519082, People’s Republic of China

    Hanyu Wu

  3. Key Laboratory of Special Functional Materials and Structural Design, Ministry of Education, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, People’s Republic of China

    Xiaolan Zhao, Hanyu Wu, Zhiwei Niu, Duoqiang Pan & Wangsuo Wu

  4. Joint Staff Department, Beijing, 100010, People’s Republic of China

    Meng Lu

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Zhao, X., Wu, H., Lu, M. et al. Elucidating the binding configuration of uranium at the biotite-water interface. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 332, 3845–3858 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-023-09058-1

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