Europium recovery process by means of polymeric nanoparticles functionalized with acrylic acid, curcumin and fumaramide

• Published in: Journal of rare earths 2024-10, Vol.42 (10), p.1950-1959
• Main Authors: Martínez-Montoya, P.A., del Río, J.M., Morales-Ramirez, A. de J., Corea, M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: [Eu] recovery; Chelating effect; Emulsion polymerization; Extraction process; Rare earths; Stripping process
• ISSN: 1002-0721
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jre.2023.11.006

Polymeric nanoparticles of poly(methyl methacrylate) were obtained by emulsion polymerization techniques in a process of two stages. The particles were functionalized with acrylic acid, curcumin, and fumaramide and three series of polymeric particles were obtained. The incorporation of functional groups was confirmed by Fourier transform-infrared spectrosocopy (FT-IR) and ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) methods. The spherical morphology of particles with an average diameter of 100 nm was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The polymeric materials were used for recovery of [Eu] from synthetic solutions. The nanoparticles show excellent chelation capacity to trap rare-earth ions, because they recover more than 85% of [Eu] at pH of 2. The images of SEM after extraction process show arrays between particles with larger average particle sizes to 1.5 μm. In addition, the particles have a good stripping capacity, exceeding 50% of it, maintaining their homogeneity in morphology and good stability in dispersion for the recovery and stripping processes. A pseudo-second model order is obtained for the extraction and stripping processes while the best results of stripping process are obtained at pH of 6. [Display omitted]