Polyamidoxime (PAO) granules for solar-enhanced uranium extraction from seawater

Extracting uranium (U(vi)) from seawater can effectively solve the shortage of uranium resources on land. The key to U(vi) extraction from seawater is preparing high performance U(vi) extraction materials. Although PAO based materials present outstanding performance in U(vi) extraction, their experimental adsorption capabilities are greatly restricted by its aggregation. To inhibit PAO aggregation, we used KMnO4 as a regulator to interfere with PAO aggregation in aqueous solutions, and the physicochemical properties of the obtained KMnO4@PAO were well characterized. Importantly, KMnO4@PAO also presents excellent photo-thermal conversion properties in various aqueous solutions, which are beneficial for U(vi) extraction. The adsorption properties of KMnO4@PAO for U(vi) under different solution conditions (pH, adsorption time, U(vi) ion concentration, and temperature) were studied by batch adsorption experiments. The results reveal that KMnO4@PAO presents excellent adsorption properties for U(vi), and its efficient photo-thermal conversion properties can increase solution temperature and U(vi) adsorption capability. Extracting uranium (U(vi)) from seawater can effectively solve the shortage of uranium resources on land.