Recyclable covalent organic frameworks/cellulose aerogels for efficient uranium adsorption

Min Li; Bin Qing; Haiyan Luo; Wei Gao; Qinghui Shou; Shixian Wu; Haoyu Yao; Xiangfeng Liang; Huizhou Liu

doi:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.137156

Recyclable covalent organic frameworks/cellulose aerogels for efficient uranium adsorption

Int J Biol Macromol. 2024 Dec;282(Pt 4):137156. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.137156. Epub 2024 Oct 31.

Authors

Min Li¹, Bin Qing², Haiyan Luo³, Wei Gao², Qinghui Shou⁴, Shixian Wu², Haoyu Yao², Xiangfeng Liang⁵, Huizhou Liu⁶

Affiliations

¹ Qingdao New Energy Shandong Laboratory, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266101, China; Shandong Energy Institute, Qingdao 266101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
² Qingdao New Energy Shandong Laboratory, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266101, China; Shandong Energy Institute, Qingdao 266101, China.
³ College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266071, China.
⁴ Qingdao New Energy Shandong Laboratory, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266101, China; Shandong Energy Institute, Qingdao 266101, China. Electronic address: shouqh@qibebt.ac.cn.
⁵ Qingdao New Energy Shandong Laboratory, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266101, China; Shandong Energy Institute, Qingdao 266101, China. Electronic address: liangxf@qibebt.ac.cn.
⁶ Qingdao New Energy Shandong Laboratory, Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266101, China; Shandong Energy Institute, Qingdao 266101, China; CAS Key Laboratory of Green Process and Engineering, Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China. Electronic address: hzliu@ipe.ac.cn.

PMID: 39488314
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2024.137156

Abstract

The advancement of efficient, recyclable adsorbents for the economical capture of uranium from seawater is critical for the sustainable progression of nuclear energy. In this work, a unique aerogel composed of covalent organic frameworks (COF-TpTHA)/cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) was synthesized under mild conditions for uranium adsorption. TpTHA/CNF aerogel resolves challenges related to the formability of COF. CNF utilized as the matrix to encapsulate COF-TpTHA in order to improve the dispersion and reinforce the composite materials. The introduction of COF-TpTHA endows CNF aerogel with sufficient active groups for uranium adsorption. X-ray diffraction (XRD) characterization confirmed the successful incorporation of COF while maintaining the type I structure of cellulose. Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy further validated the presence of hydrogen bonding interactions between COF and cellulose. The results demonstrated the excellent adsorption efficiency of TpTHA/CNF aerogel towards U(VI), with a maximum adsorption capacity of 177.90 mg g^-1 (experiment) for U(VI). Meanwhile, TpTHA/CNF aerogel exhibited favorable adsorption selectivity and reusability. This cellulose-encapsulated COF approach offers a simple and promising method for uranium extraction from seawater, demonstrating its significant application potential.

Keywords: Adsorption; Cellulose; Composites; Covalent organic frameworks; Uranium.

MeSH terms

Adsorption
Cellulose* / chemistry
Gels* / chemistry
Kinetics
Metal-Organic Frameworks* / chemistry
Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared
Uranium* / chemistry
Uranium* / isolation & purification
X-Ray Diffraction

Substances

Uranium
Cellulose
Metal-Organic Frameworks
Gels