An anti-algae adsorbent for uranium extraction: l-Arginine functionalized graphene hydrogel loaded with Ag nanoparticles

Uranium (VI) is very essential element in nuclear technique and the enrichment uranium has attracted lots of attention. In this work, l -Arginine and Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs) functionalized reduced graphene oxide ternary hydrogel composites (Ag- l -Arg-rGH) were successfully synthesized, which combined the insertion of AgNPs with one-step thermal reduction and an assembly of graphene oxide nanosheets, using l -Arginine ( l -Arg) as both a functional and cross-linking agents. The Ag- l -Arg-rGH composites exhibited great enhanced sorption capacity. Kinetic data best fitted the pseudo-second-order model. The thermodynamic data fitted the Langmuir isotherm model and the calculated maximum adsorption capacity is 434.78 mg/g. In addition, the anti-algae experimental results indicated adsorbent showed marked algal inhibition with the presence of AgNPs in the Ag- l -Arg-rGH composites. In the simulated seawater experiments, The distribution coefficient (Kd) value of uranium(VI) with other competing ions was 2.41 × 104 mL g−1. Thereby, the Ag- l -Arg-rGH composites possessed a promising potential for the enrichment uranium (VI) from nature seawater.