Preparation Of Hydrated And Intercalated Two-dimensional Titanium Carbides And Its Adsorption Properties For U(VI)

With the rapid development of nuclear energy industry,the safeprocessing and treatment of nuclear wastes is of extreme importance for theadvanced nuclear fuel cycle and environmental safety,in which functionalnanomaterials will play crucial roles in the efficient adsorption,pre-concentration,separation and immobilization of various radionuclides.The transition metal carbide nanostructured material has good radiation stability,thermal stability and a large number of heavy metal ion adsorption sites,which are expected as potential new radioactive element adsorbents.In this paper,Ti₃C₂T_x was successfully prepared by HF etching.On the basis of this,small organic molecule and inorganic base were used as intercalatortoactivate the material.The spontaneous intercalation and hydration nature of these 2D materials in aqueous solution often lead to the swelling of interlayer spacing,and the alteration of surface chemistry and interaction force inside the multilayered structures,may renderthe large enhancement of adsorption capacitytoward the removal of radionuclidesfrom aqueous solutions.?1?Owe to remarkable widening the interlayer spacing of the multilayers,hydrated DMSO-intercalated Ti₃C₂T_x exhibits a high U?VI?uptake capacity of 214 mg g^-1,which is nearly 54.5% of the theoretically saturated adsorption capacity.?2?Moreover,a treated capacity of 5000 kg U?VI?-contaminated waste waterper kg activated sorbent can be achieved to meet the drinking water standard recommended by World Health Organization(15 ?g L^-1).?3?The characteristic intercalated?002?peak of U?VI?inside Ti₃C₂T_x multilayers have been confirmed at a 2? of 6.32o for the first time.?4?They demonstrated an exceptional U?VI?encapsulation of Ti)3C₂T_x by a facile post-calcination treatment.A small leaching percentage of U?VI?below 6% after immersion in strong acidic or basic solutions can be achieved,rendering the multilayered Ti₃C₂T_x a potentially reasonable candidate for geological disposal of nuclear wastes.