Original Article:
Bifunctional Phosphorylcholine-Modified Adsorbent with Enhanced Selectivity and Antibacterial Property for Recovering Uranium from Seawater
Zeng Huang, et al.
ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2020, 12, 14, 16959–16968.
10.1021/acsami.0c01843
Although adsorbents are a popular route to recover uranium from seawater, the presence of other competing metal ions and abundant bacteria in seawater can lead to reduced performance or even failure of adsorbents. In this work, the researchers developed a bifunctional phosphorylcholine-modified adsorbent with enhanced selectivity and antimicrobial properties for the recovery of uranium from seawater, which is the main source of nuclear fuel for nuclear power generation.
The adsorbent exhibits high selectivity toward uranyl ion and excellent antibacterial property to reduce the effects of biofouling caused by marine microorganisms. For the preparation of uranium adsorbents, PVC-CPVC fibers were used to graft 2-methacryloyloxyethylphosphorylcholine (MPC) via atom transfer radical polymerization.
Phosphorylcholine (PC) was chosen as a candidate for the practical recovery of uranium from seawater mainly based on the following characteristics:
> PC contains phosphate groups similar to tributylphosphate (TBP), a widely used uranium extractant.
> As a basic component of cell membranes, PC has been used as a building block for various polymeric biomaterials due to its good biocompatibility and excellent resistance to nonspecific protein adsorption.
> In addition to potentially high selectivity, PC is also environmentally friendly and may offer antimicrobial adsorption.
Chemicals Related in the Paper:
| Catalog Number | Product Name | Structure | CAS Number | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACM107733 | Phosphorylcholine |  |
107-73-3 | Price |
