Amidoxime-Based Polymer Microspheres with High Selectivity for Uranium from Saline Lake Brine

Uraniumis the most basic ingredient for nuclear energy production,and its sources are mainly concentrated in mineral, as well as seawaterand saline lake brine. Amidoxime-based functional adsorbents playan indispensable role in the efficient recovery of uranium from variedsources. However, it is empirically considered that for amidoximeadsorbents, balancing adsorption capacity and selectivity is challengingin the presence of complex interfering ions, especially for vanadium.Herein, a kind of amidoxime-modified mesoporous polymer microspherewith an optimized distance among functional groups was synthesized,which has remarkable chemical stability and ion selectivity. It isimpressive that the adsorption capacity of the above-mentioned amidoximemicrospheres for uranium in natural saline lake brine reached 15.9mg/g, which was two orders of magnitude higher than that of vanadium.Combined with enhanced adsorption capacity, excellent selectivity,and ultra-high stability, amidoxime-functionalized mesoporous polymermicrospheres emerge as a promising adsorbent for uranium extractionfrom natural saline lake brine.