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A thermal-responsive hydrogel to capture uranium(VI) from aqueous solution: properties and mechanism

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Abstract

In this study, a thermal-responsive hydrogel, sodium alginate/polyamidoxime/poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) hydrogel (SA/PAO/PNIPAm), was prepared via radical polymerization. The uranium (U) capturing properties of the hydrogel were investigated. The results reveal that SA/PAO/PNIPAm can effectively remove U(VI) from aqueous solution, and the maximal adsorption capacity was calculated to be 319.49 mg g−1 at 305.15 K and pH 5.0. Furthermore, the adsorption mechanism was revealed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis and density functional theory simulations. In particular, high desorption efficiency was observed by changing the desorption temperature, which could reduce secondary pollutants in elution process.

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Acknowledgements

The authors greatly acknowledge the financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 22166002, 22066004, 52162020, and 52164012), and are extremely thankful to the Fundamental Science on Radioactive Geology and Exploration Technology Laboratory (2022RGET16) for the technical support.

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  1. Fundamental Science on Radioactive Geology and Exploration Technology Laboratory, East China University of Technology, Nanchang, 330013, Jiangxi, China

    Chenjing Dai, Cheng Meng, Shujuan Liu, Jianqiang Luo, Ranjie Fang, Shufan Lu, Guorong Wu & Jianguo Ma

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  1. Chenjing Dai
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Dai, C., Meng, C., Liu, S. et al. A thermal-responsive hydrogel to capture uranium(VI) from aqueous solution: properties and mechanism. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 332, 4449–4461 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-023-09141-7

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