Capture of organic iodides from nuclear waste by metal-organic framework-based molecular traps.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 28883637.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-017-00526-3 and PMC identifier 5589857.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Effective capture of radioactive organic iodides from nuclear waste remains a significant challenge due to the drawbacks of current adsorbents such as low uptake capacity, high cost, and non-recyclability. We report here a general approach to overcome this challenge by creating radioactive organic iodide molecular traps through functionalization of metal-organic framework materials with tertiary amine-binding sites. The molecular trap exhibits a high CH<sub>3</sub>I saturation uptake capacity of 71 wt% at 150 °C, which is more than 340% higher than the industrial adsorbent Ag<sup>0</sup>@MOR under identical conditions. These functionalized metal-organic frameworks also serve as good adsorbents at low temperatures. Furthermore, the resulting adsorbent can be recycled multiple times without loss of capacity, making recyclability a reality. In combination with its chemical and thermal stability, high capture efficiency and low cost, the adsorbent demonstrates promise for industrial radioactive organic iodides capture from nuclear waste. The capture mechanism was investigated by experimental and theoretical methods.Capturing radioactive organic iodides from nuclear waste is important for safe nuclear energy usage, but remains a significant challenge. Here, Li and co-workers fabricate a stable metal-organic framework functionalized with tertiary amine groups that exhibits high capacities for radioactive organic iodides uptake.