A novel strontium-based MOF: synthesis, characterization, and promising application in removal of 152+154Eu from active waste

Mohamed A Hamouda; Sheta M Sheta; Reda R Sheha; A T Kandil; Omnia I Ali; Said M El-Sheikh

doi:10.1039/d2ra01159j

A novel strontium-based MOF: synthesis, characterization, and promising application in removal of ^152+154Eu from active waste

RSC Adv. 2022 Apr 29;12(21):13103-13110. doi: 10.1039/d2ra01159j. eCollection 2022 Apr 28.

Authors

Mohamed A Hamouda¹, Sheta M Sheta², Reda R Sheha³, A T Kandil¹, Omnia I Ali¹, Said M El-Sheikh⁴

Affiliations

¹ Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Helwan University Cairo 11795 Egypt.
² Inorganic Chemistry Department, National Research Centre 33 El-Behouth St., Dokki Giza 12622 Egypt dr.sheta.nrc@gmail.com +20-02-33370931 +201009697356.
³ Nuclear Chem. Dept., Hot Lab Center, Egyptian Atomic Energy Authority P. O. 13759 Cairo Egypt.
⁴ Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology Department, Central Metallurgical R & D Institute Cairo 11421 Egypt.

Abstract

Removal of hazardous radioactive materials such as ^152+154Eu from active waste using the batch approach has attracted attention nowadays. In this work, a novel melamine-terephthalic strontium metal-organic framework (MTSr-MOF) was prepared via a hydrothermal method. The MTSr-MOF was characterized by various analytical techniques such as FT-IR, ¹H/¹³C-NMR, mass spectroscopy, XPS, XRD, TGA, BET, FE-SEM/EDX, TEM, and UV. The obtained data revealed that MTSr-MOF exhibited brick-like building blocks that were bridged together by the linkers, and each block had a thickness of ∼120 nm. The BET surface area was 74.04 m² g^-1. MTSr-MOF was used for the removal of ^152+154Eu radionuclides from active waste. Further functionalization using various modifiers, including oxalic acid, EDTA, sulfuric acid, and sodium hydroxide was carried out to improve the sorption efficiency of MTSr-MOF towards ^152+154Eu radionuclides. Among them, MTSr-MOF modified with oxalic acid (MTSr-OX-MOF) demonstrated a superior removal efficiency toward ^152+154Eu radionuclides when compared to MTSr-MOF or other published reports, with a removal efficiency of more than 96%. The higher sorption efficiency of the MTSr-OX-MOF indicates that it could be a promising candidate for the removal of ^152+154Eu radionuclides from radioactive waste.