Efficient removal of U(VI) from aqueous solution by hydroxyapatite/graphene oxide composite microspheres

Wenjun Wu; Jianlong Wang

doi:10.1515/ract-2023-0235

Article

Efficient removal of U(VI) from aqueous solution by hydroxyapatite/graphene oxide composite microspheres

Wenjun Wu and Jianlong Wang

Published/Copyright: November 20, 2023

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From the journal Radiochimica Acta Volume 112 Issue 1

Abstract

Effective treatment of uranium-containing wastewater is of great significance to the sustainable development of nuclear power and the protection of ecological environment. In this study, a highly efficient uranium adsorbent, graphene oxide (GO)/nano-hydroxyapatite (nHA) composite microspheres (nHA@rGO) was synthesized, which could effectively remove uranium from aqueous solution. Under the condition of pH = 3.5, T = 298 K, the maximum adsorption capacity reached 1672.96 mg/g. The results of batch experiments showed that the adsorption capacity of nHA@rGO microspheres was higher than that of nHA microspheres, indicating the enhancement of GO. The adsorption kinetics conformed to the pseudo second-order model. The changes of nHA@rGO microspheres before and after uranium adsorption were analyzed by FT-IR, XPS and XRD. The mechanisms of U(VI) ions adsorption onto nHA@rGO microspheres involved precipitation, surface complexation and ion exchange, in which the hydroxyl and phosphoric acid groups played important roles. The results showed that the prepared nHA@rGO microspheres can be used as an efficient and promising adsorbent for the treatment of uranium-containing wastewater.

Keywords: adsorption; hydroxyapatite; graphene oxide; uranium; hydrothermal synthesis

Corresponding author: Prof. Jianlong Wang, Laboratory of Environmental Technology, Energy Science Building, INET, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, People’s Republic of China; and Beijing Key Laboratory of Radioactive Waste Treatment, INET, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, People’s Republic of China, E-mail: wangjl@tsinghua.edu.cn

Funding source: National Key Research and Development Program

Award Identifier / Grant number: 2020YFC1806604; 2016YFC1402507

Acknowledgments

The research was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program (2020YFC1806604; 2016YFC1402507) and the Program for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University (IRT-13026).

Research ethics: Not applicable.
Author contributions: Wenjun Wu: Investigation, Formal analysis, Writing – original draft. Jianlong Wang: Conceptualization, Writing - review & editing Funding acquisition, Methodology, Supervision. The authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this manuscript and approved its submission.
Competing interests: The authors state no conflict of interest.
Research funding: National Key Research and Development Program (2020YFC1806604; 2016YFC1402507).
Data availability: The raw data can be obtained on request from the corresponding author.

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Received: 2023-09-29

Accepted: 2023-11-04

Published Online: 2023-11-20

Published in Print: 2024-01-29

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https://doi.org/10.1515/ract-2023-0235

Keywords for this article

adsorption; hydroxyapatite; graphene oxide; uranium; hydrothermal synthesis