Search

Abstract Uranium extraction from seawater has attracted worldwide attention due to the massive reserves of uranium. Due to the straightforward synthesis and strong affinity toward uranyl ions (UO22+), the amidoxime group shows promise for use in highly efficient uranium capture. However, the low mass transfer efficiency within traditional amidoxime‐based adsorbents severely limits the adsorption rate and the utilization of adsorption sites. In this work, a macroporous polyamidoxime (PAO) hydrogel is prepared by yeast‐based biological foaming combined with ice crystal dispersion that effectively maintained the yeast activity. The yeast‐raised PAO (Y‐PAO) adsorbent has numerous bubble‐like holes with an average pore diameter >100 µm. These macropores connected with the intrinsic micropores of PAO to construct efficient diffusion channels for UO22+ provided fast mass transporting channels, leading to the sufficient exposure of hidden binding sites. The maximum adsorption capacity of Y‐PAO membrane reached 10.07 mg‐U/g‐ads, ≈1.54 times higher than that of the control sample. It took only eight days for Y‐PAO to reach the saturation adsorption capacity of the control PAO (6.47 mg‐U/g‐ads, 28 days). Meanwhile, Y‐PAO possessed excellent ion selectivity, good reusability, and low cost. Overall, the Y‐PAO membrane is a highly promising adsorbent for use in industrial‐scale uranium extraction from seawater.

Abstract Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is a powerful industrial oxidant and potential carbon-neutral liquid energy carrier. Sunlight-driven synthesis of H2O2 from the most earth-abundant O2 and seawater is highly desirable. However, the solar-to-chemical efficiency of H2O2 synthesis in particulate photocatalysis systems is low. Here, we present a cooperative sunlight-driven photothermal-photocatalytic system based on cobalt single-atom supported on sulfur doped graphitic carbon nitride/reduced graphene oxide heterostructure (Co–CN@G) to boost H2O2 photosynthesis from natural seawater. By virtue of the photothermal effect and synergy between Co single atoms and the heterostructure, Co–CN@G enables a solar-to-chemical efficiency of more than 0.7% under simulated sunlight irradiation. Theoretical calculations verify that the single atoms combined with heterostructure significantly promote the charge separation, facilitate O2 absorption and reduce the energy barriers for O2 reduction and water oxidation, eventually boosting H2O2 photoproduction. The single-atom photothermal-photocatalytic materials may provide possibility of large-scale H2O2 production from inexhaustible seawater in a sustainable way.

Summary: Detection of radioactive iodide ions (I–) is important for protecting human beings from the hazards of radioactive pollution. Herein, we present a protocol for detecting I– using a zirconium(IV)-enhanced strategy. We describe steps for optimizing the I– detection approach, establishing standard curves, and finally applying the approach. The use of zirconium(IV) greatly improves the detection performance and endows this approach with an ultralow detection limit of 0.176 nM together with wide applicability in various aqueous environments.For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Feng et al. (2022).1 : Publisher’s note: Undertaking any experimental protocol requires adherence to local institutional guidelines for laboratory safety and ethics.

In this study, we developed a reflective localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) optical fiber sensor, based on silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs). To enhance the sensitivity of the LSPR optical sensor, two key parameters were optimized, the length of the sensing area and the coating time of the Ag NPs. A sensing length of 1.5 cm and a 1-h coating time proved to be suitable conditions to produce highly sensitive sensors for biosensing. The optimized sensor has a high refractive index sensitivity of 387 nm/RIU, which is much higher than that of other reported individual silver nanoparticles in solutions. Moreover, the sensor was further modified with antigen to act as a biosensor. Distinctive wavelength shifts were found after each surface modification step. In addition, the reflective LSPR optical fiber sensor has high reproducibility and stability.