Design of MXene/graphene oxide nanocomposites with micro-wrinkle structure for efficient separating of uranium(VI) from wastewater

With the rapid development of nuclear energy, the pollution of uranium (U(VI)) to water environment has become a major threat to human health. To effectively separate U(VI) from wastewater, a simple and organic-free method was used to prepare MXene/graphene oxide nanocomposite (MGN) for removing U(VI). A variety of characterization tests showed that MGN exhibited a micro-wrinkle structure with large specific surface area. For adsorption experiments (m/V = 0.1 g·L−1, pH = 6.0, T = 298 K), MGN-2 showed an excellent ability for adsorbing U(VI) with a high saturated adsorption capacity (1003.5 mg·g−1). A short equilibrium time (60 min) of U(VI) on MGN-2 could be obtained when CU(Ⅵ) = 100 mg·L−1. Moreover, MGN-2 still had an excellent adsorption efficiency for U(VI) under various coexisting ions. After eight cycles, the adsorption efficiency of MGN-2 for U(VI) was only 6.2% less than the original U(VI) adsorption efficiency of MGN-2. The mechanism of U(VI) adsorbed on MGN-2 might be realized by reduction-induced immobilization and complexation of U(VI). Based on these results, MGN-2 could be a potential adsorbent for removing U(VI) from wastewater. Simultaneously, the preparation method of MGN could provide a new idea for the preparation of new high efficiency U(VI) adsorbent.