Anti-Biofouling Polyzwitterion–Poly(amidoxime) Composite Hydrogel for Highly Enhanced Uranium Extraction from Seawater
Lang Yang,
Ye Sun,
Yue Sun,
Jiawen Wang,
Lin Chen,
Xueliang Feng,
Jinggang Wang,
Ning Wang,
Dong Zhang,
Chunxin Ma
Affiliations
Lang Yang
State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
Ye Sun
State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
Yue Sun
State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
Jiawen Wang
State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
Lin Chen
State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
Xueliang Feng
State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
Jinggang Wang
Key Laboratory of Bio-Based Polymeric Materials Technology and Application of Zhejiang Province, Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315201, China
Ning Wang
State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
Dong Zhang
The Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
Chunxin Ma
State Key Laboratory of Marine Resource Utilization in South China Sea, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China
Amidoxime-functionalized hydrogels are one of most promising adsorbents for high-efficiency uranium (U) extraction from seawater, but bioadhesion on their surface seriously decreases their adsorption efficiency and largely shortens their service life. Herein, a semi-interpenetrating zwitterion–poly(amidoxime) (ZW-PAO) hydrogel was explored through introducing a PAO polymer into a poly [3-(dimethyl 4-vinylbenzyl amino) propyl sulfonate] (PDVBAP) polyzwitterionic (PZW) network via ultraviolet (UV) polymerization. Owing to the anti-polyelectrolyte effect of the PZW network, this ZW-PAO hydrogel can provide excellent super-hydrophilicity in seawater for high-efficiency U-adsorption from seawater. Furthermore, the ZW-PAO hydrogel had outstanding anti-biofouling performance for both highly enhanced U-adsorption and a relatively long working life in natural seawater. As a result, during only 25 days in seawater (without filtering bacteria), the U-uptake amount of this ZW-PAO hydrogel can reach 9.38 mg/g and its average rate can reach 0.375 mg/(g∙day), which is excellent among reported adsorbents. This work has explored a promising hydrogel for high-efficiency U-recovery from natural seawater and will inspire new strategy for U-adsorbing materials.
