Electrochemical Uranium Extraction from Seawater‐Reproduced Vacancy

The ocean contains approximately 4.5 billion tons of uranium at a concentration of about 3.3 ppb. Electrochemical catalysis offers a new approach for efficient uranium extraction from seawater, overcoming limitations of traditional methods like adsorption and ion exchange, which suffer from low efficiency, difficult recovery, and biological contamination. Electrocatalytic techniques enhance selectivity and efficiency by reducing and crystallizing UO 2 2+ under an electric field. Oxygen vacancy (V o ) engineering increases active sites and conductivity, significantly boosting uranium capture. This chapter demonstrates high uranium extraction rates using oxygen-vacancy-rich In 2 O 3 nanosheets in both simulated and real seawater, validating V o s positive impact on the electrochemical process. Overall, V o engineering provides critical support for sustainable uranium extraction from seawater.