Accelerating Uranium Extraction from Water via Synergy of Adsorption and Filtration by MOF Hybrid Membrane

Abstract

AbstractIn this paper, novel UiO‐66‐AO‐based adsorption‐filtration hybrid membranes (UAMs) are prepared via an irradiation‐mediated growth strategy to simultaneously improve water flux and accelerate uranium extraction from water resources. The UAM shows an equilibrium adsorption that is four times faster than UiO‐66‐AO powder and an adsorption capacity that is over two times higher. UAM also achieves a record synergy of high flux and high uranium removal ratio from simulated seawater (1358.8 L m−2 h−1, 84.5%) by one‐time filtration under ambient temperature and pressure (the adsorption is 1.83 mg g−1 in 90 min). The excellent uranium extraction performance is attributed to the unique UAM structure, in which water flows through the channels of thin metal‐organic framework (MOF) film without blocking by substrate leading to the high flux during filtration, and the full contact of uranium with abundant exposed active sites promotes the adsorption. This work will be conducive to overcoming the bottleneck problems of uranium extraction from water resources.