Recent advances and future perspectives of polymer-based magnetic nanomaterials for detection and removal of radionuclides: A review

Abstract

The development of advanced magnetic functional adsorbents for enhanced environmental cleanup technologies has gained extensive attention over the last decade. Recently, magnetic materials have significantly impacted environmental remediation due to their unique properties, facile modification, selective adsorption ability, superparamagnetism, and ease of regeneration. These magnetic nanomaterials exhibit exceptional activity to detect and remove target pollutants and metabolites. When used in conjunction with some advanced techniques (high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, and other analytical methods), the detection and identification of trace contaminants can be carried out in a one-step process. The development of polymer-based magnetic nanocomposite materials has emerged as the most promising candidates for removing radionuclides from aqueous solutions due to their extraordinary physicochemical, electronic, and exfoliation features. Here, we review polymer-supported magnetic nanocomposite materials (PMNCs) to remove radionuclides from the aqueous solutions. This critical review first provides a brief overview of the sustainable development goals, characteristic features of PMNCs, impact, and different techniques employed for the removal and detection of radionuclides. Following this overview, different engineering strategies for the functionalization of (MNPs) with other nanomaterials and their application for trace analysis of radionuclides from aqueous solutions have been discussed. Finally, we feature the development strategies and future challenges of PMNCs as efficient adsorbents. By analyzing the structure morphology, theoretical calculations, magnetic properties, and surface area, we discussed the fundamental relationships between composition, structure, and adsorption efficiency for various PMNC adsorbents to provide better insights into these emerging magnetic hybrid materials at the microscopic level.