A novel phosphorylated MXene composite for enhanced selective adsorption of uranium

In order to ensure the sustainable development of nuclear energy in the future and reduce the damage of nuclear-contaminated water to the ecological environment and organisms, it is of great significance to extract and remove uranium from the environment. In this work, phosphorylated functionalized MXene (TBP-M-OH(e)) was synthesized using a sacrificial template method. Due to the removal of the template, it exhibited a higher surface phosphoryl grafting rate, a looser structure, and a faster adsorption rate compared with TBP-M-OH. The uranium adsorption capacity measured at 298 K, pH=6, C0=100 mg·g-1, m: V=0.5 g·L-1 was 885.00 mg·g-1 along with high selectivity, exceeding most of the reported adsorbents. Even after five cycles of experiments, the uranium adsorption capacity remains satisfactory. The adsorption mechanism of TBP-M-OH(e) was described by FTIR and XPS. The high adsorption performance was attributed to the strong affinity of the phosphonyl group for uranium, as well as the synergistic effect of the amine group in APTES and the functional group of MXene itself for uranium. In conclusion, TBP-M-OH(e) showd an excellent potential for the treatment of nuclear contaminated water.