An asymmetric pulsed current-assisted electrochemical method for Sr(Ⅱ) extraction using supramolecular composites

The development of effective, economical, and sustainable seawater extraction strontium techniques is of great significance to the environment and industrial needs. In this paper, an asymmetric pulsed current-assisted electrochemical (AP-CE) method was used to extract Sr(Ⅱ) from seawater using a carbon electrode modified by dibenzo-18-crown-6-ether and cellulose acetate. An asymmetric pulsed current was used to prevent unwanted cations from blocking adsorption sites to prevent water splitting. It also prevented the cellulose acetate membrane from sealing the crown ether. Compared with traditional physicochemical adsorption of Sr(Ⅱ), the AP-CE method achieved a higher removal efficiency and adsorption capacity. When the concentrations of Sr(Ⅱ) were 10, 20, 50, and 100 mg L^-1, the removal efficiencies of Sr(Ⅱ) were 99.3%, 97.6%, 97.3%, and 96.1%, and the adsorption capacities of Sr(Ⅱ) were 14.9, 29.3, 73.0, and 144.2 mg g^-1, respectively. This method exhibited excellent selectivity for Sr(Ⅱ) adsorption from simulated seawater, suggesting that the asymmetric pulse electrochemical method is promising for extracting strontium ions from seawater.