Spectroscopic and modeling investigation of U(VI) removal mechanism on nanoscale zero-valent iron/clay composites.

Nanoscale zero-valent iron (nZVI)-based composites have been widely utilized in environmental cleanup due to their low cost, high adsorption performance and strong redox activity. Herein, removal mechanism of U(VI) on nZVI/clay composites was demonstrated by batch, XPS and modeling techniques. The batch experiments showed that nZVI/clay composites exhibited the high removal capacity (88.90 mg/g at pH 4.0) and good regeneration towards U(VI) from aqueous solution. The adsorbed U(VI) was mostly reduced to U(IV) by nZVI/clay composites according to XPS analysis. The removal process of U(VI) on nZVI/clay composites was satisfactorily fitted by surface complexation modeling using strong and weak sites, indicating the high chemisorption of U(VI) on nZVI/clay composites. However, the fitting results underestimated U(VI) adsorption at pH 7.0-9.0 due to the reduction of U(VI) into U(IV), whereas the overestimation of U(VI) at pH 4.0-6.0 could be attributed to fewer surface complexation reaction involved. These findings are crucial for the application of nZVI-based composites for the highly efficient removal of radionuclides in actual environmental remediation.

Boosting photocatalytic efficiency of MoS2/CdS by modulating morphology.

CdS-based composites as the highly efficient photocatalyst have been extensively investigated in recent years due to the suitable band gap and high photocatalytic efficiency. In this study, the effect of various factors (pH, U(VI) concentration, contents, and types of photocatalyst) on photocatalytic reduction of U(VI) by MoS2/CdS composite was investigated. The optimized experimental conditions (e.g., pH 7.0, 20 mg/g U(VI), and 1.0 g/L photocatalyst) was obtained by batch techniques. Approximately 97.5% of U(VI) was photo-catalytically reduced into U(IV) by 2.5 wt% MoS2/CdS composite within 15 min. After 5 cycles, 2.5 wt% MoS2/CdS composite still exhibited the high removal efficiency of U(VI) under 50-min irradiation, indicating the good stability. The photo-reduction mechanism of U(VI) on MoS2/CdS composite was attributed to the O-2 radicals by quenching experiments, ESR, and XPS analysis. The findings indicate that CdS-based catalyst has a great potential for the photocatalytic reduction of uranyl in actual environmental remediation.

Carbon materials for extraction of uranium from seawater.

With the rapid growth of population and industrialization, the energy crisis and environmental pollution as two main difficulties urgently need to be solved nowadays. The development and utilization of nuclear energy is of great significance for solving energy support, national security and environmental protection. As the raw material of nuclear energy, a lot of uranium in seawater provide a guarantee for the sustainable and green development of nuclear power plants. Recently, various new carbon-based materials (e.g., carbon nanofibers, multiwalled carbon nanotube, graphene) have been attracted widely intense interest in extraction of uranium from seawater due to large specific surface area, excellent acid-base resistance, high adsorption performance, environmental friendly and low cost. Thus, the systematic reviews concerning the extraction of uranium from seawater on various carbon-based materials were highly desirable. In this review, the extraction methods of uranium from seawater, including electrochemical, photocatalytic and adsorption methods are briefly introduced. Then the application and mechanism of four generation carbon-based materials on the extraction of uranium from seawater are systematically reviewed in details. Finally, the current challenges and future trends of uranium extraction from seawaters are proposed. This review provides the guideline for designing carbon-based materials with high adsorption capacity and exceptional selectivity for U(VI) extraction from seawater.