Designing self-adaptative cyclized polyacrylonitrile-polyethyleneimine conjugates enhance uranium extraction from...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Environmental Science
• Nuclear Engineering

Background:

• Seawater uranium extraction is crucial for sustainable nuclear fuel but faces low efficiency and biofouling.
• Current methods struggle with adsorbent performance and operational stability in marine environments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a self-adaptive adsorbent for enhanced uranium extraction from seawater.
• To address challenges of low efficiency and biofouling in current uranium harvesting technologies.

Main Methods:

• Synthesized a cyclized polyacrylonitrile-polyethyleneimine (CPAP) adsorbent with pH-responsive properties.
• Investigated CPAP's adsorption capacity, desorption behavior, and anti-biofouling capabilities.
• Evaluated performance in a self-designed flow-type extraction device.

Main Results:

• CPAP demonstrated a high uranium adsorption capacity (22.3 mg g⁻¹), surpassing existing fiber adsorbents.
• The adsorbent exhibited effective biofouling suppression due to photothermal effects and quaternary ammonium groups.
• The flow-type device achieved high uranium extraction efficiency (1.91 mg g⁻¹d⁻¹) with excellent cycling stability.

Conclusions:

• The self-adaptive CPAP adsorbent offers a promising solution for efficient and scalable seawater uranium harvesting.
• This work introduces a new concept for intelligent adsorbent design, paving the way for advanced materials in resource recovery.