A Poly(acrylonitrile)-Functionalized Porous Aromatic Framework Synthesized by Atom-Transfer Radical Polymerization for the Extraction of Uranium from Seawater

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• 作者：Yanfeng Yue ; Chenxi Zhang ; Qing Tang ; Richard T. Mayes ; Wei-Po Liao ; Chen Liao ; Costas Tsouris ; Joseph J. Stankovich ; Jihua Chen ; Dale K. Hensley ; Carter W. Abney ; De-en Jiang ; Suree Brown ; Sheng Dai
• 刊名：Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research
• 出版年：2016
• 出版时间：April 20, 2016
• 年：2016
• 卷：55
• 期：15
• 页码：4125-4129
• 全文大小：335K
• 年卷期：0
• ISSN：1520-5045

文摘

In order to ensure a sustainable reserve of fuel for nuclear power generation, tremendous research efforts have been devoted to developing advanced sorbent materials for extracting uranium from seawater. In this work, a porous aromatic framework (PAF) was surface-functionalized with poly(acrylonitrile) through atom-transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). Batches of this adsorbent were conditioned with potassium hydroxide (KOH) at room temperature or 80 °C prior to contact with a uranium-spiked seawater simulant, with minimal differences in uptake observed as a function of conditioning temperature. A maximum capacity of 4.81 g-U/kg-ads was obtained following 42 days contact with uranium-spiked filtered environmental seawater, which demonstrates a comparable adsorption rate. A kinetic investigation revealed extremely rapid uranyl uptake, with more than 80% saturation reached within 14 days. Relying on the semiordered structure of the PAF adsorbent, density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal cooperative interactions between multiple adsorbent groups yield a strong driving force for uranium binding.