Hierarchical Self-Assembled Polyimide Microspheres Functionalized with Amidoxime Groups for Uranium-Containing Wastewater Remediation

Lien Zhu; Chunhong Zhang; Fuqiu Ma; Changlong Bi; Ruiqi Zhu; Chao Wang; Yudan Wang; Lijia Liu; Hongxing Dong

doi:10.1021/acsami.2c17623

Hierarchical Self-Assembled Polyimide Microspheres Functionalized with Amidoxime Groups for Uranium-Containing Wastewater Remediation

ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2023 Feb 1;15(4):5577-5589. doi: 10.1021/acsami.2c17623. Epub 2023 Jan 18.

Authors

Lien Zhu¹, Chunhong Zhang^{1

2}, Fuqiu Ma^{2

3}, Changlong Bi¹, Ruiqi Zhu¹, Chao Wang^{1

2}, Yudan Wang¹, Lijia Liu^{1

2}, Hongxing Dong¹

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Superlight Materials and Surface Technology of Ministry of Education, College of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin 150001, P. R. China.
² Yantai Research Institute of Harbin Engineering University, Yantai 264006, P. R. China.
³ College of Nuclear Science and Technology, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin 150001, P. R. China.

PMID: 36651633
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.2c17623

Abstract

Through molecule self-assembly and subsequent surface functionalization, novel uranium adsorbent AO-OB hierarchical self-assembled polyimide microspheres (AO-OBHSPIMs) were obtained by introducing the amidoxime groups into hierarchical self-assembled polyimide microspheres for the efficient and selective recovery of uranium from wastewater. The results of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherm showed that AO-OBHSPIMs were a semicrystalline polymer material with self-supporting hierarchical structure and low pore volume, and they were equipped with abundant amidoxime groups. Given the recognized selectivity of amidoxime groups and their hierarchical structure, AO-OBHSPIMs exhibited excellent selectivity to uranyl ions. Moreover, AO-OBHSPIMs exhibited good stability and recyclability and remarkable removal percentage within low-concentration solution (99.4%) and simulated uranium-containing wastewater (97.3%). AO-OBHSPIMs could be applied to fixed-bed column adsorption due to their large particle size and self-supporting hierarchical structure that can facilitate water flow. The in-depth discussion of the adsorption mechanism showed that the adsorption mainly depended on the combined action of electrostatic interactions and complexation, and the adsorption process was a spontaneous endothermic monolayer adsorption. In summary, AO-OBHSPIMs exhibited good application prospects in uranium-containing wastewater remediation.

Keywords: fixed-bed column adsorption; hierarchical self-assembly polyimide; surface engineering and functionalization; uranium adsorption; wastewater treatment and resource recovery.