Successful Coupling of a Bis-Amidoxime Uranophile with a Hydrophilic Backbone for Selective Uranium Sequestration

• Published in: ACS applied materials & interfaces 2017-08, Vol.9 (33), p.27894-27904
• Main Authors: Piechowicz, Marek, Abney, Carter W, Thacker, Nathan C, Gilhula, James C, Wang, Youfu, Veroneau, Samuel S, Hu, Aiguo, Lin, Wenbin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: amidoxime; cooperative binding; DFT; MATERIALS SCIENCE; seawater; uranium extraction
• ISSN: 1944-8244; 1944-8252
• DOI: 10.1021/acsami.7b04656

The amidoxime group (−RNH2NOH) has long been used to extract uranium from seawater on account of its high affinity toward uranium. The development of tunable sorbent materials for uranium sequestration remains a research priority as well as a significant challenge. Herein, we report the design, synthesis, and uranium sorption properties of bis-amidoxime-functionalized polymeric materials (BAP 1–3). Bifunctional amidoxime monomers were copolymerized with an acrylamide cross-linker to obtain bis-amidoxime incorporation as high as 2 mmol g–1 after five synthetic steps. The resulting sorbents were able to uptake nearly 600 mg of uranium per gram of polymer after 37 days of contact with a seawater simulant containing 8 ppm uranium. Moreover, the polymeric materials exhibited low vanadium uptake with a maximum capacity of 128 mg of vanadium per gram of polymer. This computationally predicted and experimentally realized selectivity of uranium over vanadium, nearly 5 to 1 w/w, is one of the highest reported to date and represents an advancement in the rational design of sorbent materials with high uptake capacity and selectivity.