MOFs and COFs for Radionuclide and Nuclear-Waste Treatment

The ever-growing energy demand, driven by rapid industrialization and global urbanization, has escalated the development of sustainable nuclear power generation. Nuclear fission and fuel production generate several radioactive byproducts including ⁷⁹Se, ⁸⁵Kr, ⁹⁰Sr, ⁹⁹Tc, ¹²⁷Xe, ^129/131I, ¹³⁷Cs, ²³⁵U, which pose great threat upon environmental infiltration. The sustainable development of nuclear energy relies on the easy and adequate accessibility of nuclear-fuels, like uranium, alongside safe and efficient management of the nuclear fuel cycles. To this end, reticular materials such as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and covalent-organic frameworks (COFs) have emerged as versatile sorbent platforms for efficient treatment of various radionuclides owing to their structural tunability and target specificity. Given that momentous advances have been made in radionuclide treatment by reticular materials in the past few decades, it is important to systematically review and summarize the recent advancements in this field. In this review, a brief overview of the different classes of radioactive-wastes, and the principles of radioactive waste treatment is first presented. The prerequisites in materials designing are then discussed, followed by the recent progress in MOFs- and COFs-materials toward radioactive-waste-treatment. Finally, future perspectives on the unresolved scientific and technical challenges are proposed, aiming to fast-track the translation of these materials toward real-world implementation.