Fabrication of a novel porous silica-based extraction resin and application in the adsorption of trivalent actinides

Abstract

Separating long-lived minor actinides is an important subject in the field of radioactive waste disposal and radioactive analysis. The simple, convenient, effective separation of adjacent trivalent actinides with very similar chemical properties, Am(Ⅲ) and Cm(Ⅲ), represents a very difficult challenge. Here we report a novel porous silica-based extraction resin embedded with bis(chlorophenyl)dithiophosphinic acid (BCPDTPA) as extractants, BCPDTPA/SiO2- polymer. The multiporous silica particles with a high adsorption capacity were particularly prepared. The physicochemical properties of the BCPDTPA/SiO2-P resin materials (i.e., morphology, porous characteristics, and chemical structure) were comparatively investigated with pure SiO2 particles. The stability experiments in acidic and irradiation environment were also performed, respectively. The adsorption characteristics of BCPDTPA/SiO2-P resins for Am(Ⅲ) and Cm(Ⅲ) were mainly discussed. The results demonstrated that the BCPDTPA/SiO2-P resins fabricated in this work showed a high adsorption capacity, structural stability, and excellent adsorption characteristics for Am(Ⅲ) and Cm(Ⅲ). It may thus have great potential to develop the as-assembled silica-based materials as a novel, highly effective extraction resins for the separation of actinides(Ⅲ)/lanthanides(Ⅲ), especially for those elements with very similar chemical properties, such as Am(Ⅲ) and Cm(Ⅲ).