Crown Ether-Immobilized Cellulose Acetate Membranes for the Retention of Gd (III)
Oana Steluta Serbanescu1, Andreea Madalina Pandele1,2, Madalina Oprea1,2
1Department of Analytical Chemistry and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Applied Chemistry and Materials Science, University Politehnica of Bucharest, Gheorghe Polizu 1-7, 011061 Bucharest, Romania.
Abstract:
This study presents a new, revolutionary, and easy method of separating Gd (III). For this purpose, a cellulose acetate membrane surface was modified in three steps, as follows: firstly, with aminopropyl triethoxysylene; then with glutaraldehyde; and at the end, by immobilization of crown ethers. The obtained membranes were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), through which the synthesis of membranes with Gd (III) separation properties is demonstrated. In addition, for the Gd (III) separating process, a gadolinium nitrate solution, with applications of moderator poison in nuclear reactors, was used. The membranes retention performance has been demonstrated by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), showing a separation efficiency of up to 91%, compared with the initial feed solution.
