High efficiency gold extraction by 2D metallic 1T/1T' phase transition metal dichalcogenides.
basic_science · Level V
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- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 42660871.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-026-75803-1.
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Abstract
Recovery of precious metals from waste has high social and economic value, but in practice, recycling is often inefficient due to limits in technologies and materials. Here we show a group of materials-two-dimensional (2D) metallic 1 T/1 T' phase transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs, MoS<sub>2</sub>, WS<sub>2</sub>, TaS<sub>2</sub>, and TiS<sub>2</sub>)-that allows for efficient, selective, and scalable extraction of valuable gold (Au) from leaching solutions of end-of-life electronics. The materials exhibit rapid kinetics, delivering an impressive 99.99% extraction efficiency of Au<sup>3+</sup> in merely 0.25 min. Furthermore, they showcase strong selectivity for Au<sup>3+</sup> adsorption, featuring a distribution coefficient (K<sub>d</sub>) 5-6 orders of magnitude higher than that of other competitive cations (Cu<sup>2+</sup>, K<sup>+</sup>, Ni<sup>2+</sup>, Na<sup>+</sup>, Zn<sup>2+</sup>, Ca<sup>2+</sup>, and Mg<sup>2+</sup>). Amongst, TiS<sub>2</sub> exhibits an unprecedented extraction capacity of 9093 mg⋅g<sup>-1</sup> toward Au<sup>3+</sup>, which is approximately 1 order of magnitude higher than most other benchmark adsorbents (silver-organic frameworks). Importantly, through batch production of TiS<sub>2</sub> nanosheets (5 g) and subsequent membranes fabrication for gold extraction, we demonstrated 0.15 g gold (23.8 Karat) recovery by treating 30 discarded central processing units (CPUs). Our work provides a foundation for the efficient and selective recovery of high-value metals from waste, contributing to a sustainable and circular economy.