Phosphate-Functionalized Polyethylene with High Adsorption of Uranium(VI)

High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide For uranium extraction from seawater, development of new stable and reusable sorbents with high affinity and good selectivity for U(VI) is required. Herein, a new phosphate-functionalized polyethylene (denoted PO 4 /PE) was synthesized via a simple Ar-jet plasma treatment of PE in concentrated H 3 PO 4 and was employed in U(VI) extraction from seawater. The prepared PO 4 /PE shows superior performance in the extraction of trace U(VI) from seawater. The adsorption process followed the second-order kinetics model and the Langmuir model. The maximum adsorption capacity of PO 4 /PE for U(VI) reaches 173.8 mg/g at pH 8.2 and 298 K. PO 4 /PE can be effectively regenerated by 0.1 mol/L Na 2 CO 3 and reused well even after eight cycles. Experimental results offer a new approach for U(VI) uptake from seawater.