Efficient removal of uranium using a melamine/trimesic acid-modified hydrothermal carbon-based supramolecular organic framework

Hualun Li; Ye Li; Yuzhi Zhou; Bolin Li; Dongbin Liu; Hanyang Liao

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2019.02.079

Efficient removal of uranium using a melamine/trimesic acid-modified hydrothermal carbon-based supramolecular organic framework

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2019 May 15:544:14-24. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2019.02.079. Epub 2019 Feb 23.

Authors

Hualun Li¹, Ye Li², Yuzhi Zhou¹, Bolin Li¹, Dongbin Liu¹, Hanyang Liao¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China.
² School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430070, China. Electronic address: whly1218@126.com.

PMID: 30822602
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2019.02.079

Abstract

In this study, we prepared a hydrothermal carbon-based supramolecular organic framework (HTC-MA-TMA) by grafting melamine and trimesic acid on hydrothermal carbon (HTC) for efficient removal of U (VI) from aqueous solutions. The nano-sized supramolecular organic framework (SOF) particles consisted of N-donor-containing melamine and O-donor-containing trimesic acid self-assembled through hydrogen bonds. Their large number of specific active sites acted as the immobilization center for capturing U (VI). Chemical modification facilitated the dispersion of the SOF particles on HTC, which was synthesized using a novel covalent/non-covalent bond strategy. The HTC-MA-TMA adsorbent exhibited exceptional U (VI) adsorption capacity (271.83 mg/g) because of the coordination interaction between UO₂²⁺ and its ligands (amino, carboxyl and amide groups). The adsorption equilibrium was achieved within 30 min and followed a pseudo-second-order equation, suggesting the occurrence of a chemical adsorption process. Furthermore, the U (VI) ions adsorbed onto the HTC-MA-TMA adsorbent could be easily desorbed using 0.1 M HNO₃ solution. This regeneration caused no significant decrease in the sorption capacity of the adsorbent. These results suggest that advanced HTC-MA-TMA adsorbent can be applied in the nuclear-fuel industry for extracting U (VI) from radioactive wastewater.

Keywords: Adsorption; Hydrothermal carbon; Melamine; Supramolecular organic framework; Trimesic acid; Uranium.