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Leveraging Photothermal Effect in 1D Covalent Organic Frameworks for Efficient, Rapid, and Selective Gold Recovery
Jiawei Ma1, Pengge Chang1, Shuna Yang2
1Henan Key Laboratory of Green Chemistry, Collaborative Innovation Center of Henan Province For Green Manufacturing of Fine Chemicals, Key Laboratory of Green Chemical Media and Reactions, Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, Henan, P. R. China.
This study introduces novel one-dimensional covalent organic frameworks (1D-COFs) for efficient gold recovery from electronic waste. These materials demonstrate high adsorption capacity, rapid kinetics, and excellent selectivity, offering a sustainable recycling solution.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Environmental Science
- Chemistry
Background:
- Electronic waste recycling is crucial for sustainable resource management.
- Efficient gold recovery from e-waste faces challenges in capacity, kinetics, and selectivity.
- Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) show promise as adsorbents but require optimization for gold recovery.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and evaluate novel one-dimensional covalent organic frameworks (1D-COFs) for efficient gold recovery from electronic waste.
- To investigate the adsorption capacity, kinetics, selectivity, and recyclability of synthesized 1D-COFs for gold.
- To elucidate the mechanism of gold adsorption and photoreduction using 1D-COFs.
Main Methods:
- Design and synthesis of TN-COF and TC-COF materials.
- Evaluation of gold (AuCl4-) adsorption performance under visible light irradiation.
- Kinetic studies to determine gold removal rates.
- Selectivity tests against other metal ions.
- Recyclability tests over multiple adsorption-desorption cycles.
- Mechanistic studies involving spectroscopic and computational analyses.
Main Results:
- Synthesized 1D-COFs (TN-COF and TC-COF) exhibited high AuCl4- adsorption capacities (3489 and 3340 mg g-1).
- Ultrafast adsorption kinetics achieved over 99% gold removal within 20 seconds.
- Excellent selectivity was demonstrated (Kd > 1.0 × 10^6 mL g-1, Sq > 9.0 × 10^3).
- High recyclability (> 25 cycles) and efficient gold recovery (~99%) from CPU leachates were achieved.
- Mechanistic insights revealed synergistic effects of electrostatic/coordination interactions and photothermal-assisted reduction.
Conclusions:
- Novel 1D-COFs offer a highly efficient and sustainable strategy for gold recovery from electronic waste.
- The photothermal effect combined with COF properties enables rapid, high-capacity, and selective gold adsorption and reduction.
- This approach surpasses traditional methods by leveraging endothermic-reduction-driven equilibrium shifts under visible light.
