Recent advances in materials for uranium extraction from seawater

With the increasing global energy demand，traditional fossil fuels are confronted with challenges such as limited reserves and environmental pollution.Due to its clean and sustainable characteristics，nuclear energy is assuming an increasingly pivotal role in promoting green development.Uranium，as the fundamental component of nuclear energy，exhibits a substantial resource demand.Although uranium resources are abundant in the ocean，their concentration remains low，thus rendering efficient extraction from seawater has become an urgent challenge.In recent decades，despite significant progress have been made in the development of materials for uranium extraction from seawater，issues persist including low adsorption capacity of extraction materials and difficulties in practical application.However，continuous research has led to breakthroughs in emerging materials that demonstrate enhanced adsorption capacity along with additional functionalities like resistance to biological fouling，thereby improving their practical applicability.Herein，the advancements made over the past five years in uranium extraction materials from seawater using methods such as adsorption-based approaches，electrochemical techniques，and combinations thereof are reviewed.Finally，future research directions for uranium extraction from seawater are proposed with the aim of providing valuable references for the development of new materials.